


skinny dipping

by tacosaretasty



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst every once in a while, College AU, Eventual Smut, F/F, Nicole is a swimmer, Waverly is a nerdy Ancient History student, Wynonna and Waverly's best friend have a thing for each other, Wynonna is bisexual because why not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-12-11 05:17:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11707575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacosaretasty/pseuds/tacosaretasty
Summary: The one where Waverly just wants to read her book in peace, but ends up meeting a naked redhead in the middle of the night.(Also, the one where Wynonna falls in love with her little sister's best friend.)





	1. Maybe you should get a towel

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy! :)

**_Skinny Dipping_ **

 

That night, four blankets weren’t enough for Waverly. It wasn’t _that_ cold outside – the slightly chilly breeze that entered the room through the window surely made her need at least one blanket –, but the loneliness that strode in her poorly-lighted apartment just outside of Purgatory University campus every now and then seemed to make her body quiver, freezing way harder than it should be.

She didn’t feel lonely like that regularly, but it was a few minutes past midnight on a Friday and everyone seemed to be out doing something. Even her roommate and best friend, Vicki Shepherd, was at a frat party – not that it was surprising to Waverly. Vicki always went to parties, got drunk and hooked up with many girls and boys, and the youngest Earp didn’t know how she managed to spend all that time partying and still be at the top of her class. Maybe Waverly should try to go out and have fun more often.

Even her feet were freezing. The apartment felt so melancholic and gloomy, she sensed an existential crisis coming – and she really couldn’t bear to have one of those right then. The brown-haired woman got up out of bed, changed her pajamas for jeans and Vicki’s Superman sweater – which was the first warm piece of clothing she found – and grabbed one of the Bukowski books she kept on the shelf, without even looking at the title. Desperately hoping that the campus wasn’t full of drunken idiots wandering around the streets, she left the apartment, ignoring the few locks of hair that fell on her face as she walked down the stairs. There was one drunken idiot she particularly didn’t want to see: Champ Hardy, the guy with who she’d broken up two weeks before, and certainly didn’t take it well. He was the typical narcissistic football player, and just couldn’t accept the fact that a girl had dumped him. Waverly thought he was pathetic, and had no clue of how she could ever have liked him.

The girl walked a few minutes until she got to campus, soon finding a bench near the small lagoon surrounded by grass where the Visual Arts students always used to hang out. There was no one there, for Waverly’s satisfaction, and if anyone decided to walk past the bench they probably wouldn’t notice her presence, given that it was pretty dark – except for the light pole that helped her read the book – and she was as quiet and steady as a rock.

After the few first minutes of reading, she noticed someone else approaching the lagoon. With the poor-lighting, Waverly could only tell that it was a pale, redheaded woman, who carried some sort of tripod in her right hand, while a bag pended on her left shoulder. She got nearer and nearer, and Earp surely didn’t feel like talking, so she just watched as the girl left her bag on the floor and set the tripod and a camera faced to the water. Her face was clearer, then. She was beautiful – undoubtedly –, and Waverly recognizer as Nicole… Herman? Harris? Well, Nicole _something_ , from PU’s swimming team.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Nicole said, closing her eyes tightly and turning the camera on. “This is for you, Rosita. I hate you for driving me into this stupid bet.”

That said, the redhead took her jacket off and tossed it straight to the ground. Waverly’s eyes grew wide. Then, she got rid of her shoes and shirt, leaving her with nothing but tight black jeans and a bra and the brunette couldn’t help but wonder _what the hell_ was going on. When the jeans came off, revealing a fitted pair of grey boy shorts, Waverly remembered her last name. _Haught._

“Skinny dipping, there I go. Why did I take this bet, anyway? It’s so fucking cold. Ugh, I’m such an idiot.” Haught turned around, her back facing the camera, only to remove her bra and toss it on the grass. “You’re going to pay for this, Rose.”

Nicole finally stripped all of her clothes off, and Waverly caught her breath as the auburn haired girl jumped in the likely cold water. Even if she wanted to leave, she couldn’t, because getting up and going back to the apartment would make Haught notice her. She really didn’t want to get caught watching the other girl swim naked.

“Fuck!” She yelled just as soon as her head went back to the surface, eyes pointed straight at the camera. “I’m freezing my ass off here! And you didn’t specify how long I was supposed to stay in the water, so I’m guessing just one dip is enough. You’re lucky no one saw that.”

The swimmer had no idea of how wrong she was. Waverly was still sitting on the bench, eyes wide open and lips parted in the most perplexed expression that had ever popped up on her face. The green-eyed wouldn’t say it out loud, but she found herself enjoying the view a little too much.

But, then, Nicole swam back to the edge of the lagoon, slightly far from her bag – _right_ where Waverly was. She left the water, trembling from head to toe, and lifted her head as soon as her feet touched the grass. Her eyes immediately met Earp’s, without her even trying. They just fell right on the tinier, baffled, beautiful woman sitting on the bench before the lake.

Just like that, Haught’s cheeks became the color of her hair – red, vibrantly sizzling, and the cold weather wasn’t a problem anymore since her face was so hot she felt like her blood was boiling. She wasn’t normally a shy person, but getting caught skinny dipping in the small lagoon in campus at a quarter before one made her feel incredibly humiliated. Waverly wasn’t much different: her book fell to the ground once she noticed the swimmer had seen her, and the need to say something and fulfill the silence – she _always_ did that in awkward situations, even though the stuff she jabbered ended up being way more embarrassing than the deadly silence.

“M-maybe you should get a towel.” Was the only thing she managed to say, and her cheeks blushed even harder after realizing that was one of the stupidest things that had ever come out of her mouth. Thankfully the lighting wasn’t good, or else Nicole would be able to see the crimson tone her face was.

Haught didn’t say anything; she just ran to her bag and pulled out a light blue towel, wrapping it around her naked figure, and then turning her head towards the other girl again.

“Can you…” She muttered, slightly putting her head down. “Um, I have to get dressed.”

“Oh, sure.” Earp babbled quickly, covering her eyes with her hands, and patiently waiting for the girl to put her clothes back on – though she kind of wanted to stay like that forever. That would spare her of having to spell out how she’d seen the whole thing that’d happened.

After a few moments, Nicole went back to talking. “You… You can stop covering your eyes now.”

And Waverly did.

“U-uh, so… I sat here to read and then you came…” The brunette began explaining herself, hating that she couldn’t help the nervous stuttering. “A-and I didn’t want to bother so I kept quiet. Then you started, um, stripping off of your clothes. It’d be too awkward to leave after you’d begun. D-don’t worry, though, I didn’t stare.”

Nicole’s green jacket seemed a bit oversized for her, which only made her look adorable. The puppy eyes stared at Waverly attentively while she spoke; the girl in the Superman sweater seemed so adorable to her. That embarrassment slowly started to fade away as she realized that the green-eyed was way more nervous than her, a subtle grin popping up on her face.

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

“I-I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to think I’m some perv. I don’t want you thinking I was watching you.”

“I don’t.” Nicole clarified. “And I should be the one apologizing. It’s just… My best friend and I took a bet, and I said that the Chicago Sharks wouldn’t win their state championship. They did. Well… She tends to get pretty creative when it comes to embarrassing the loser of a bet, especially if that loser is me.” The taller woman put her hands in her jacket’s pockets, slightly cocking her head right. “I’m Nicole, by the way. Sorry you had to see that much of me.”

“I-I know who you are.” Waverly confessed, reluctantly staring anywhere but at the woman before her. “I’ve been to one of your meets before. My roommate used to date one of the girls on the team and, uh, she kind of dragged me to it. You’re pretty good.” Earp finally gave in and looked at Haught, flashing her a polite yet small side smile. “Waverly. It’s nice to meet you.”

Instead of turning around and leaving, as expected, Nicole took a few steps until she reached the bench and sat next to Waverly, looking incessantly at the brunette. She wasn’t being invasive, though. It just felt… Genuine. Not at all like Amanda Pratt, the shallow girl from the swimming team that Vicki had dated for a month – after the breakup, she admitted to know the relationship with the swimmer wouldn’t last – who never listened to anything Waverly had to say whenever they ran into each other in the apartment.

“I like your name, and it’s nice to meet you, too. But… It surely could have happened in a less awkward way.” The chestnut-haired girl chuckled. “So, what were you reading?”

“What?” Earp instinctively raised an eyebrow.

“You said you came here to read a book. I was wondering if it’s anything I’ve read before.”

“Oh! That. Of course.” Waverly looked down at her hands, noticing that the book wasn’t there anymore. Her eyes ran over the ground, which made her see that it had fallen – probably when Nicole came out of the water –, so she picked the volume up. “Bukowski. I’m a huge fan of his work.”

“Which one?”

Waverly mentally cursed herself for having picked the one with the worst title possible. “Uh… Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness.”

Nicole bit back a smile.

“I’ve heard of it, and have honestly been meaning to read it.” She said, shrugging subtly as a dimpled smile took charge of her face. “Only way I’ll ever get near an erection.”

Waverly blushed again. “What do you mean?”

“Not a fan of dudes, or that thing they carry around in their pants.” The statement made a small, almost imperceptible smirk pop up on the smaller girl’s face. Nicole’s eyes went down to the sweater she wore. “Superman, huh? Already like you. I can’t see how people think Batman’s got anything on him.”

“Though I _do_ like Superman, this isn’t mine.” Waverly cleared up, sluggishly starting to feel more comfortable around the raven-haired woman. “It’s my roommate’s. And she says it isn’t Superman, it’s actually Supergirl.”

“Even better.”

“I know, right?”

“Absolutely.” The taller woman chewed on the inside of her cheek. “So, Waverly, what do you do here in PU?”

“Halfway through Ancient History course. I know, boring to everyone else, but I love it. How about you?”

“Law school. Want to be a law person. Perhaps even a cop?” She smiled. “And Ancient History _does_ sound cool, for what it’s worth. I mean it. You must be really smart.”

“Officer Haught. Sounds good.” Waverly nearly whimpered at the double meaning of that sentence. Nicole’s last name sure was appropriate. “Vicki calls me Brainiac, a nerd, among other stuff, but she’s a med student at the top of her class so she can’t say much about me.”

“Your roommate and you sound close. Guess you got lucky.” Nicole pouted, letting out a short breath through her pale parted lips. “Mine’s kind of a dickhead. She always plays loud music in the dorm, even when I have to sleep early to be well-prepared for a competition the next morning or study for an important exam.”

“Oh, I don’t live in the dorms. Vicki and I rented an apartment just outside of campus with some of the savings we had left.”

“I’ve been thinking of doing this, actually. My parents said they’d help me with any debts or needs and I really hate asking them for stuff, but this time it might be worth it. I mean, yesterday Courtney, my roommate, made out incessantly with some dumb jock who looked like a taller, small town version of Justin Bieber while I tried to read the material Professor McCarthy sent my class.”

“Wait… That dumb jock wouldn’t happen to be Champ Hardy, would he?”

“Yes, he would.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Why, you know him?”

“Well…” Waverly suddenly felt embarrassed for her past with the womanizer football player. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”

Haught’s eyes widened quickly, while her mouth hung open with surprise. She couldn’t believe that someone like Waverly would ever want to date someone like Champ.

“ _Seriously?_ ” She chortled breathily, the dimples showing once again. “Not possible! I mean, I’ve known you for just a few minutes and can already tell that you’re _way_ too good for him. You can do so much better.”

“I know.” Waverly _did_ know. She couldn’t clearly see why she’d spent all that time with Champ. “I guess I dated him for the commodity. You should have seen the way we broke up. He was in my apartment, drinking a bottle of Vicki’s cranberry juice, which is another reason why she hated his guts, and it just hit me. I didn’t know why I was with him. He’s rude, shallow, and cares about his own triceps more than he’s ever cared about me. Plus, the sex wasn’t so good.” She admitted, already comfortable with the woman next to her. Nicole had this sort of atmosphere around her, and Waverly had never been so at ease with anyone that quickly. “So, while he said something about how being the quarterback was such a hard task because all the girls were madly in love with him and it was exhausting, I stood up and told him we were done. Said that I should’ve seen it before. Kicked him out of my apartment with only one sentence and am still ignoring all the self-pity texts he sends me every now and then.”

“You’re my new hero.” The ginger smiled brightly, intertwining her own fingers in an attempt to ease the cold. “And does he seriously think all the girls are madly in love with him?” She chuckled. “Bet I’m more of a hit with the ladies than he is.”

Waverly couldn’t help but laugh, her head involuntarily nodding in agreement. “Don’t doubt it.” It was true. Nicole was _really_ attractive and it wasn’t a problem for Waverly to acknowledge that. She’d always known she liked girls, and had even been with one back in her senior year in high school. “You’d get along with Vicki. She used to say that exact same thing whenever he bragged.”

Just like that, Earp’s phone buzzed indicating that someone had sent her a text message.

 **Vicki <3: **heeeeeeeeeey waverlyyyyy

 **Vicki <3: **i’m super druuunkkkk

 **Vicki <3: **so……guess who i made out with tonight

 **Vicki <3: **rosita from the swimming team!!!

 **Vicki <3: **she’s super hot and such a good kisser and her lips are so soft

 **Vicki <3: **but i was thinking about ur sister the whole time lmao

 **Vicki <3: **wynonna is prettyyyyyy

 **Vicki <3: **i really like her hair and her eyes and her snarky comments

 **Vicki <3: **her lips are probably the softest

 **Vicki <3: **and her name…..wynonna

 **Vicki <3: **i bet it sounds good when i moan it

 **Waverly:** I’ll ignore you just said that about my sister because you are drunk… Are you cool to go home by yourself?

 **Vicki <3: **the party’s far from over and i think i’m getting lucky

 **Waverly:** Okay. Don’t do drugs. Don’t get into a fight. If you need anything, just text or call me.

 **Vicki <3: **k ily

 **Waverly:** Love you too, you drunken idiot.

Waverly knew that Vicki had had a crush on Wynonna for a long time, but, as far as she knew, it was just a harmless thing, nothing to worry about. Her best friend wasn’t the type to fall in love and commit – every now and then, Earp woke up on Saturdays and found a completely random person (who always seemed to be hot and shirtless) in her kitchen. She didn’t even bother anymore.

“Speaking of the devil.” Waverly said, briefly showing Nicole her phone screen. “Vicki just texted me. Apparently she’s super drunk and made out with some girl named Rosita. You must know her, she’s on the swimming team.”

“Boy, do I know her.” Haught smiled, slightly tilting her head right. “Apparently _your_ best friend made out with _mine_. Just let her know that she shouldn’t fall in love. Rose isn’t the girlfriend type.”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem. Vick’s like that, herself. Plus, don’t tell your friend, but she said she thought about, um, someone else the entire time. Though she _did_ mention Rosita is, in her words, super hot, such a good kisser and her lips are soft.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Well, just the super hot, good kisser and soft lips part. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

“Speaking of lips…” Waverly stared at Nicole’s mouth for a moment, suddenly wondering if her lips were soft. But of course she wouldn’t say anything. “Yours are white. Nearly blue. You must be freezing.”

“Kind of am.” She confessed. “I think I better head back to my dorm and take a hot shower.”

“Oh.” Earp didn’t want her to go, but she couldn’t say that. They had _just_ met, and Nicole was already nicer than most of the people she’d ever come across. “Okay. I’ll go home, too. Guess I’ll see you around?”

“Of course. But I don’t want to risk not ever bumping into you again, you know, it _is_ a big campus.” Haught bit her lip discreetly, almost involuntarily. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, swiftly unlocking it and handing it to the girl. “Can I have your number? I mean, only if you want to give it to me.”

“It’d be an honor.” Waverly typed her number and saved it under ‘Waverly Earp’ – she was sure Nicole would never meet another Waverly, but just in case –, and gave the redhead her phone back. “Just text me later so I can save your number, too.”

“I surely will…” She read the other girl’s name on the screen. “Earp.”

“Thanks, Haught.” Waverly stood up. “See you around.”

“Hopefully.” Nicole flashed the girl one last dimpled grin, standing on her feet as well. “Good night.”

“Night.” The brown-haired girl smiled too, biting the tip of her lower lip as she gradually drifted away. “It was a pleasure.”


	2. I bet you make babies smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girls night at Shorty's. Waverly somehow feels drawn to Nicole and the redhead just wants the brunette to know she's amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't even begin to say how amazed I was for the quick response chapter one got. I really wasn't expecting anything over 100 hits, so it was quite nice to get one freaking thousand. Thank you so much!
> 
> Don't forget to leave comments and Kudos, they're great motivation. Sorry for taking a week to post again, but I've been kind of caught up in school and this chapter is way bigger than the last one, so I think it was worth it. I don't know when I'll post again, but I promise as soon as I can. :)
> 
> If you like Grey's Anatomy, please check out my fanfiction "It's Just a Cosmic Joke" (if you need the link, here it goes: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11707371/chapters/26364813 or just look for it in my profile), it's a f/f story based on an original character and (our beloved) Lexie Grey. Lots of angst, smut and fluff.
> 
> Sorry for any possible mistakes.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! :)

Waverly must have been the only person in campus besides the athletes who woke up before nine o’clock on a Saturday. When the clock hit ten, she’d already eaten breakfast, taken a shower and organized the apartment –even though she’d had an exceptionally late night. She was just one of those people who find it physically impossible to sleep in.

Plus, Nicole hadn’t texted her yet. The wait was driving her insane, and she didn’t even know why.

While she sat on the couch, deliberately watching one of those doctor shows Vicki always told her to, her best friend walked into the apartment in the same clothes she’d worn the night before, her hair slightly wet making her look like she’d just had a shower, and lilac bags under her eyes that indicated she hadn’t slept much – or had her daily morning coffee.

“You look like crap.” Waverly honestly said, while her roommate went straight to the kitchen count in order to pour herself an extra-large cup of neat black coffee. “But, looking at the bright side, you smell really good.”

“I crashed at Rosita’s dorm.” Shepherd explained herself, taking a large gulp of the hot drink in her cup. “She let me take a shower before coming back home, but I’m still hungover as fuck. I also didn’t have much sleep... Though I can’t complain about that part.”

“It sounds like you had a wild night.”

“Wild doesn’t even begin to describe it. I mean, at some point, this Geography student got so drunk she threw her boot at the chandelier and called it Thomas, who apparently was her cheating ex-boyfriend.”

“Wow.”

“Plus, she said he can’t go around sleeping with his best friend while they’re dating just because he got bit by a radioactive spider and can walk on the roof now.”

“Someone’s been watching too many superhero movies.”

“And that’s _not_ the craziest part, but most of it I was too drunk to remember.”

“Dude, I never want to see your liver.”

“Me neither.”

They heard a loud knock on the door, followed by lower whilst impatient other knocks and taps. No one had been asked over, which meant that neither of the girls knew who _the hell_ was inviting themselves to their home on a Saturday at a quarter after ten in the morning. Vicki narrowed her eyes, but muttered an “I got it” since she was closer to the apartment entrance than Waverly.

Much to her surprise, the person standing on the other side was Wynonna Earp, her roommate’s older sister. Shepherd kept quiet for a second, not sure about what to say or how to act. Truth is she’d had a crush on Wynonna for quite a while – not anything serious, but enough to make her a bit anxious whenever near the blue-eyed girl –, and sometimes it got hard to get through the tenseness. No one ever made Vicki nervous, but, somehow, being around Waverly’s big sister left her restless, and in desperate need to show how good she could be. Because she could. And, for some reason, she just wanted Wynonna to know that.

“Sup, Dr. Pretty Eyes?” The girl who’d just arrived said, carrying a big paper bag from the campus most visited coffee shop. Vicki quivered at the nickname Wynonna used towards her. She called her that every now and then – once, when they went for drinks in a bar near campus with Waverly and some of Wynonna’s friends, an Administration student who knew Vicki went to Med school used that as a pick-up line. The eldest Earp found the situation rather amusing, so the epithet just became a thing among them. “Uh…” The younger girl must have stood motionless at the door for too long, because the one who’d arrived cleared her throat. “Vicki. You’ve got to let me in.”

_I’ll let you in any time,_ she thought.

“Oh. Sure.” The med student took a step aside, giving her friend’s sister an adequate amount of space to walk into the apartment. She noticed Waverly wasn’t in the couch anymore, which meant she’d probably gone to the bathroom or something. “Hello, by the way. What are you doing here?”

“Hey, don’t mistreat me. I brought us donuts.”

“Wasn’t trying to mistreat you.” Vicki shut the door, slightly uneasy, walking over to the kitchen counter and picking up a chocolate-sprinkled donut from the bag. “That was just a poor choice of words, let me reformulate my sentence. Oh, Wynonna, what a nice surprise. What brings you to my humble household?”

“Now, that’s better.” Wynonna wrapped her fingertips around a cream-filled donut, giving it a considerably big bite and, consequently, getting cream on her nose without noticing. Vicki found it irrefutably adorable. “I’m not sure, to be honest. The homestead simply felt too boring and the donuts here are _way_ better than those doughy ones at that so-called café near the police station.” She took a seat on the counter, completely ignoring the existence of the stools. “Where’s Wave?”

“Right here.” Waverly walked into the living room again, persistently staring at her cellphone screen like a fourteen-year-old waiting for her crush to call. “Hey, Wy. It’s good to see you.”

“Is it really? Because you seem a little caught up on your phone.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s great.” The youngest Earp grinned at the display, her fingers starting to type fast as she sat back in the couch.

“Not even listening.” Her sister complained – not that it made Waverly pay attention to what she was saying.

Nicole had finally texted her, and just a simple “hello” was enough for them to start a conversation in order to get to know each other better. Waverly found it fascinating how she could talk to the redhead about pretty much anything, because she knew that whatever topic she brought up, the dialogue wouldn’t come to an end. The green-eyed wondered if she’d ever felt like that around anyone that quickly. The answer was no.

“Waverly, come talk to your big sister who you haven’t seen in two weeks and let go of that stupid thing.” Wynonna said while Waverly talked to Nicole about their favorite bands. As it turned out, the ginger head was a huge fan of The Fray, which made the brunette like her even more. “What’s up, anyways? Are you on Tinder now?”

The younger girl let her new friend know she had to go because her big sister was _quite_ annoying and then got up from the couch, immediately walking over to the kitchen.

“I’m _not_ on Tinder. I was just chatting with Nicole, this girl from the swimming team I met last night–”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Vicki got herself into the conversation, placing one hand on Waverly’s thin shoulder and not giving her friend the chance to finish her sentence. “You mean you went out last night and met a hot redhead, but didn’t want to go to that party in the Beta house with me?”

“I didn’t _go out_. I just sat on campus to read a book because the apartment felt dreary. And Nicole happened to be… Out on campus, too. Plus, I’ll _never_ go to a frat party. Not my thing.” She clarified, taking a seat on one of the stools and picking up a donut from the bag. “And how do you know Nicole is ho… I mean, how do you know she’s a redhead?”

“Rosita mentioned her best friend, Nicole, who was _also_ a swimmer, and I saw a picture of them in her dorm. And it wasn’t a frat party, it was a _sorority_ party!”

“Hold on a second.” Wynonna raised an eyebrow. “Firstly, who the hell is Rosita? Secondly, you’re banging a hot redhead and didn’t have the decency to tell me, sis?” She tapped Wave’s arm lightly, faking indignation. “You dog!”

“ _What?_ Who said anything about banging her? We _just_ met and I got out of a relationship, like, two weeks ago! Moreover, banging is such an ugly word!” Waverly reprehended her sister, suddenly feeling her face start to burn. “It’s not like I’m into her, either. We’ve literally known each other for less than twelve hours.”

“Sorry, Waves, no need to get all defensive. Guess I just made assumptions a little too fast.”

“You certainly did!”

“This still doesn’t answer my first question.”

“Oh, Rosita’s just a girl Vicki slept with last night. No biggie.”

Wynonna flashed her sister’s friend a side smile.

“Aw, now I understand the bags under your eyes, you sex freak.” The wink she threw next made Vicki want to run to her bedroom and hide the fact that her cheeks had gotten as red as a tomato.

“Dude, those bags really _are_ huge. I assume you didn’t sleep at all.” Waverly provoked, knowing that Shepherd would rather be anywhere else right then given that she always got extremely uncomfortable whenever Wynonna teased her about personal things – especially sex.

Before Vicki could say anything, her friend’s sister started talking again.

“It _is_ quite a look, though. I mean, creased clothes, wet hair and bags under your eyes. Kind of hot.” The med student nearly choked, trying to hold back an astonished whimper that almost came out, while Waverly stared at her sister as if her statement had been a rather strange thing to say. “What? I’m helplessly attracted to people who look like they haven’t slept in ages.”

This time, Vicki did let out the whimper she’d been trying to hold.

“Whoa, this coffee is a bit strong.” She tried to cover the low groan up with a cough, but Waverly threw her a look that revealed she knew exactly what her roommate had done. “And, uh, enough about my sex life. Let’s go back to the original topic: Waverly’s sex life.”

“You’re right.” Wynonna crossed her arms under the leather jacket she always wore, turning back the attention to her kid sister. “You wouldn’t have gotten all nervous if nothing was going on.”

“I-I didn’t get nervous!” Her voice came out high-pitched, and the stuttering made it clear that her declaration was a lie. “I’m just _so_ done with you thinking that everyone I meet is a potential hookup.”

“Everyone you meet _is_ a potential hookup.” Wynonna gave her donut a last bite. “Unless they’re, like, really old or smelly. Or use the monkey emoji.”

“Or voted for Donald Trump.” Shepherd complemented, receiving a nod from the blue-eyed girl.

“Word.”

“Just stop, okay? Nicole _isn’t_ a potential hookup. We’ve only seen each other once. Not that it means anything, because she _won’t_ be a potential hookup nor ever was.”

“How do you feel about seeing her twice?” The older Earp suggested, getting up from the counter and leaning back against it. “I’m up for drinking tonight, and surely Dr. Pretty Eyes is, too. Give this Nicole person a call and ask her. Maybe Vicki’s new arm candy can come as well.”

“Rosita’s _not_ my new arm candy. It was only a one-night thing.”

“Ooh, _caliente_.”

Vicki buried her face in her hands.

“Screw you, Wynonna.”

/ / /

 

Waverly assuredly wasn’t going to invite Nicole out for drinks, because she knew that, besides having only met the woman a day before, Wynonna and Vicki would get tipsy after a few glasses and most certainly embarrass her. The two women had insisted so hard, though, that she eventually surrendered, texting Haught a casual invitation to Shorty’s Saloon and declaring that the redhead was free to bring someone else if she wanted to, because the last thing Waverly wanted was for her to feel like an outsider amongst the three girls.

When the clock hit 9 PM, Wynonna was pulling her car over in front of the building Nicole’s dorm was located in and, of course, honking impatiently – which caused Waverly to slap her on the head with no mercy. She didn’t see it coming, given that her sister was in the backseat, so she didn’t even have a chance to fight back.

“Hey!”

“Stop honking. I already texted her saying we’re here. She should show up anytime now.”

That said, the ginger woman walked out of the big doors to the building, followed by an incredibly good looking Latina. Waverly assumed that must have been Rosita and, by the look on Vicki’s face, she was absolutely right.

The two of them walked over to the vehicle, and Waverly opened the door so they could get in.

“Hey!” The green-eyed sounded a bit too cheerful, which made Vicki and Wynonna share a not at all discreet look that Waverly chose to ignore. As Nicole and her friend got in the car, the two girls in the front tried to behave in order not to make the youngest Earp feel embarrassed, even though keeping quiet was an extremely hard thing for the both of them. “This is my sister, Wynonna, and this one over there is my best friend, Vicki.”

“I’m sure Rosi knows exactly who she is.” Haught chuckled, making her friend roll her eyes and confirming Waverly’s suspicions. The Law student abruptly bit her lower lip, realizing she shouldn’t be making that kind of joke in front of the people she’d just met if she wanted to leave a good impression. She stopped being so tense when Wynonna let out a breathy laughter, however, and smiled at the two girls she hadn’t met before. “It’s nice to meet you, guys. I’m Nicole, and this is Rosita… Um, Waverly, I hope it’s okay I brought her.”

“Of course it is.” She turned her attention to Rosita, throwing one of her irresistibly endearing signature smiles in the girl’s direction. “It’s a pleasure, Nicole’s told me a few things about you.”

“Not just Nicole.” Wynonna got into the conversation, forcing her foot on the pedal. “Am I right, Dr. Pretty Eyes?”

Vicki sighed audibly, clearly annoyed at what the blue-eyed’s proclamation, and closed-mouth smiled to Nicole’s friend through the rear-view mirror. “Hey, Rosita.” The Hispanic woman answered with a simple – yet stunning – polite grin, whilst Shepherd let her elbow rest on the open window. “Don’t listen to anything Wynonna says, all she does is talk nonsense and make highly inappropriate jokes.”

“Also I’m incredibly attractive.” Earp claimed with a slender shrug.

The rest of the ride was considerably quiet, except for a few snarky comments from Wynonna, and Waverly and Nicole’s eventual small conversations. It was a short drive to the saloon, so in just a few minutes Wynonna parked the car outside of the establishment and all the five women exited the vehicle.

“When you said we were coming to a bar, I didn’t picture it to be Shorty’s.” Nicole said as they entered the place. “Damn, I haven’t been here in a while.”

“You’ve been here before?” Waverly asked with surprise in her voice, which didn’t make much sense since Shorty’s was pretty much the only bar in Purgatory that didn’t have half-naked women and poles in it.

“Born and raised in Purgatory, you should be surprised if I hadn’t.”

“How haven’t we met before? I used to work as a bartender here in my first year of college to make a few extra bucks.”

“Oh, I took a year off after high school to study abroad.”

They sat on a booth in the corner, significantly close to the pool table, and a waitress Waverly recognized from her old days as a server walked over to them and told them she’d take their orders in just a minute.

“Wow, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I always say that once I’m done with college I’ll go backpacking around Greece, Norway, India and pretty much all over Central America.”

“Those are quite interesting choices of country, and, I mean, talk about cultural contrasts!” The redhead sounded genuinely interested in what Earp had to say, which made the shorter girl more comfortable with talking about her plans for the future. She had no idea why speaking to Nicole was such an easy thing to do. She’d noticed that the Law student had some sort of aura, an unbelievably appealing energy that seemed to light up the darkest of places without her even trying. Waverly wondered if she was the only one who felt like that around Haught. “I spent my year abroad in Europe. Short-term language courses in Spain and Germany, though, looking back, I would have really liked to learn French, too.”

“Je peux t'enseigner, si tu veux.” Waverly said, proud of the time she’d taken as a teenager to study foreign languages – even though Wynonna and Willa always said that some of them were useless. She’d always known that they were worth learning but, if she hadn’t, the look on Nicole’s face would have been enough for her to be sure that all the research and sleepless nights weren’t a waste of time whatsoever. The Ancient History student blushed a little. “It means ‘I can teach you, if you want’ in French.”

“Outstandingly beautiful, avid reader, speaks French and studies Ancient History. You really are something else, Waverly Earp.”

Vicki kicked Wynonna lightly under the table, motioning with her head to Waverly’s face – which was redder than they’d ever seen –, and the elder Earp had to bite her lower lip not to laugh at her sister’s situation.

“She also speaks Norwegian, Latin and Ancient Greek, you know.” Wynonna said, gently placing one hand on Waverly’s shoulder. “And she can sing.”

“What _can’t_ you do?” Haught faced the green-eyed girl, who was sitting right in front of her.

Wave didn’t know what to say. She’d always been good at taking compliments – one of the advantages of being Purgatory’s finest was regularly getting praised –, but Nicole just made her mind go completely blank and, for a moment, she could’ve sworn she even forgot her own name. Being with the swimmer was, without a doubt, something she’d learned to enjoy in an unusually short amount of time, but nothing in the world is perfect. In her mind, Haught was delightful – the problem in the situation was, well, herself, for not being able to stop looking goofy for at least one second while getting complimented like that. “Thank you, I’m, uh… It’s honestly very sweet of you and I’m a little– You know, I’ve been, um…”

Wynonna noticed how flustered her sister was and, as much as it was her job as a big sibling to be amused by circumstances like that, all the stuttering and self-interruption just made her feel uncomfortable, too. So she cleared her throat loudly, making everyone’s attention fall onto her, and faked a laugh as if she hadn’t meant for that to happen.

“Oops. I think I have a cold. Damn crazy weather.” She scratched her head, unexpectedly leaning against the table and smiling at Rosita. “So, Rosita, what do you do? I mean, besides my sister’s best friend.”

Vicki babbled a quiet “I’m going to kill you” to Wynonna, who just winked as response.

“I’m a Biochemistry student.” Bustillos said, filling in the silence that had been set in the table. “And, just like Nicole, I’m on the swimming team, which, I’m not going to lie, is totally worth the exhaustion caused by fitting the practices in my already very tight schedule.”

“No shit!” Shepherd suddenly sounded a bit overexcited, but hastily got herself back together. “I mean, um, wow. I didn’t know you studied Biochemistry. I was this close to choosing it over Medicine.”

“I’m a helpless nerd when it comes to controlling information flow through biochemical signaling and the flow of chemical energy through metabolism. Though Medicine was a good decision, because at least you don’t have Dixon as a professor now. He makes _Biochemistry_ boring.”

“Yeah, because controlling information through… What you said sounds _really_ exciting and not boring at all.” Wynonna said sarcastically, a small dimple popping up on her face as her lips curved up in a side smile.

“Don’t be a buzzkill, Wynonna, Biochemistry is cooler than you think.” Vicki assured, leaning back against the seat. “Is he really that bad?”

“He puts the dick in Dick-son.”

Vicki chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“Yeah, that’s _so_ funny.” Wynonna interfered in the conversation again, that brazen smile still on her face, then abruptly stood up and stopped at the end of the table. “I’m going to go get a drink at the bar. You guys want anything?”

“I’m really up for a margarita.” Shepherd was the first one to answer, kindly looking up at Wynonna as she waited for the other women to speak. “Do you need help?”

“Nah, I got it.” The minor barefaced smile left Wynonna’s expression, and a slightly calmer and more sympathetic one popped up. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll have a beer, please.” Nicole said, glad that someone had finally suggested that they started drinking. She’d been meaning to do that, but didn’t want to be the first.

“Whiskey, please.” Rosita was the next one to speak. “Neat.”

“And I think I’m going to go with a–” Waverly started, but was swiftly interrupted by Wynonna as she held her hand and pulled her out of the booth. “Hey!”

“You’re helping me, baby girl. And don’t complain, that’s what little sisters are for.”

“I wouldn’t have complained if you’d come a bit less strong!”

“You know I only like it rough, sis.” The blue-eyed girl winked ironically.

“Wait, Wy, you said you didn’t need help.” Vicki interfered, dragging Wynonna’s attention. “When I asked.”

Waverly’s sister chewed on the inside of her cheek, and blinked a few times before answering the girl. “I don’t _need_ it.” She claimed, cocking her head front. “But I’d surely _like_ it. And, hold on, since when do you call me Wy?”

“Um…” Shepherd gulped, spontaneously brushing her hair back with the tips of her fingers. “Since now, I guess.”

“Whatever.” Earp shrugged, turning back to her sister and slowly starting to take a few steps towards the bar. “Come on, sis, those drinks aren’t going to get themselves.”

Waverly frowned, deciding to ignore Wynonna’s sudden weird acting. When it came to speaking her mind, the deputy didn’t spare any words – but she had to talk when she _wanted_ to. The Ancient History student had already learned to let her sibling take her time to figure out when to share her thoughts, because Wynonna surely didn’t like being pushed into doing or saying something she wasn’t ready to. Waverly knew that, even though her sister was the toughest person she knew, everybody had drawbacks.

“Good evening, ladies. What’ll it be?” The bartender asked, smiling sympathetically at the Earp sisters while he rubbed the counter with a cloth.

“Two beers, one margarita and a dose of whiskey. Make it neat, please.” Wynonna ordered, subtly leaning against the wooden balcony as the man started picking up the necessary ingredients for a margarita.

“Uh, you forgot about me, sis.” Waverly delicately said, stepping a little closer to the bartender so he could hear her better. “And I’ll have a, um… tequila shot, please. Make it two, actually.” She had no idea where that came from, since her usual order was a plain beer, but, despite the good events from the night before, that had been an exceptionally long week for her. In between having to write essays with way too many pages, cranky professors and Champ’s eventual late night calls because he just couldn’t take the fact that he and Waverly were done, she granted herself the right to stop caring, for once. She deserved to drink tequila like a stupid college kid.

“Bold choice, baby girl.” The taller one teased, nipping softly at the other girl’s arm. “Sure you can take it?”

“Quit it, Wynonna.”

“Jeez, I was just joking. What’s up with you?”

“Just had a rough week and only now stopped to reflect on it, is all. I’m sorry.” Waverly closed her eyes for a second and shook her head gently, that bright signature smile taking charge of her face again. “But now everything’s fine, right? Nicole seems to be having a good time, you’ve only been inappropriate, like, three times, and Vicki appears to be kicking it with Rosita. You know, verbally. I was afraid they were going to make tonight awkward.”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes.

“About that…” Her voice had gotten faintly squeakier than usual. “Are you sure they were just a one-time thing? Because, um, you saw them get a _little_ steamy, right? I mean, just get a room already.”

“They weren’t getting steamy. They’re just nerds with a common cause.”

“Come on, Waves. Vicki was _clearly_ putting the moves on Rosita. How could you not see it? The smiling, the implications in her tone, the way she cocked a brow whenever Rosita laughed at something she said… And all that ‘Wynonna, don’t be a buzzkill’ crap? God help anyone who gets in the way of those two. Your bestie’s crushing on your girl’s bestie. Kind of poetic, if it wasn’t such a cliché.”

“First of all, being a cliché is what would make it poetic. Second of all, Nicole is _not_ my _girl_ , she’s my friend whom I’ve met _just_ yesterday, you and Vicki surely need to knock it off. And third of all, I don’t think anybody but _you_ noticed any of those smiles, implications and brow-cocking.” Waverly poked her sister’s shoulder lightly, watching the deputy wrinkle her forehead as she always did when uncomfortable with a subject. The younger girl knew she shouldn’t push the older one, but maybe a gentle tap on the back would be helpful. “Wy, are you trying to tell me something?”

A loud, overstated laugh came out of Wynonna’s mouth.

“ _What?_ ” She tapped the balcony nonchalantly, as if her sister had suggested something absurd. “Nonsense, Waves. I’m just _very_ observant.”

“All I’m saying is that once Willa cut my hair in my sleep and it took you two days to notice that.” The green-eyed shivered at the memory. “Are you _sure_ you don’t want to tell me anything?”

“Just that the ginger head you’re all over has been staring too much. She has the hots for you too, for what it’s worth.”

Waverly would’ve gotten nervous if she didn’t know that the impulsive change of topic was Wynonna’s strategy to get the attention off of herself. She opened her mouth to speak again, willing to talk about something else so the blue-eyed wouldn’t be uncomfortable, but the bartender finished preparing their drinks.

“Thank you so much.” Wave kindly said, doing a shot of tequila before taking the other beverages to the girls in the booth. She loved the way that the burning liquid dripped down her throat, something she hadn’t felt in a considerably long time, so she turned confidently to the man behind the bar again. “Actually, can you send another round to that table right there?”

 

/ / /

 

“And then Willa and I ran past the corn fields and she told me to avoid getting near the barn because she’d seen a family of scorpions there.” Wynonna took another sip of what must have been her sixth bottle of beer, tipsily telling everyone around the table one of her and Waverly’s childhood stories. “Even though there’s no such thing as scorpions in Purgatory, I was just eight years old, and Willa was my role model. So I bought it. It wasn’t until later that night that we heard Waverly’s screams because dad had walked by the barn.”

“Your big sister _trapped_ you in there?” Nicole widened her eyes in concern, her hands meeting Waverly’s on the table. “God, that must have been awful for you.”

“That was the last time I felt comfortable in grandma’s farm, which sucked, because I used to love it there.” The youngest Earp unconsciously started rubbing circles on the back of Haught’s hand, her voice coming out lazily due to the alcohol she’d ingested. “And I haven’t played hide and seek ever since. I guess being locked for an entire day in a barn with stinky animals that were way too big for a four-year-old _is_ sort of traumatizing.”

“Willa’s all kinds of fucked up.” Vicki pointed out, giving her drink a quick gulp. “I’m sorry, Earps, but that’s a fact.”

“You’ve met her?” Rosita asked. Besides Nicole – who'd only had one bottle of beer that far –, she was the only one who wasn’t visibly drunk yet.

“Yuuup.” Wynonna babbled as soon as Shepherd opened her mouth to answer. “In _my_ house. Because it was _my_ birthday.”

Vicki was too smashed to interpret the intonations in that sentence, so she simply nodded.

“Exactly. Willa decided that it was a good idea to surprise Wynonna on her birthday last year so she just showed up at the homestead without any warning. She kept trying to hold everyone against Waverly and I admit that I _did_ offer to beat her up but Waves is too good a person to let me.”

“I had no idea you had such a terrible sister.” Nicole spoke again – her hands still entwined with the green-eyed’s –, sincerely upset that Waverly had suffered so much in the hands of Willa as a child. “Where is she now?”

“Somewhere in New York. She left home shortly after high school to study fashion in NYU, and now works at a big fancy company.” It was clear that the brunette was still strongly bitter for all the cruel stuff her sister had put her through, because she just didn’t understand. She had no idea what she’d done to deserve that kind of treatment, and she’d spent countless nights awake wondering why Willa didn’t act the same way towards Wynonna. Why her number one idol in the whole world hated her so much. “Perfect little Willa has always been the best Earp.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” The auburn-haired woman said, keeping her big brown puppy eyes locked in Waverly’s emerald ones. “I’m sure she’s got nothing on you. You’re kind, smart, crazy beautiful, multilingual and your hair’s very soft. Your evil sister’s definitely not the best Earp.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“I know you.”

“Barely.”

“Yet I already think you’re bewildering. One of a kind. It’s a shame your sister can’t see that, but I assure you that I do.”

Everyone stood in silence for an instant. Even though Waverly and Nicole had literally _just_ met, there seemed to be a connection between them that had been established as soon as the redhead came out of the water the day before. Neither of the girls looked away from each other’s eyes, a bright smile shining on the shorter woman’s face – she knew, in that moment, that the swimmer would stick around for a long time. And she couldn’t be happier.

After a few seconds of quietness – which felt more like minutes –, Wynonna started talking again.

“I’m offended.” She said sluggishly, resting her elbows on the table. “I think I’m a very good Earp.”

“You’re a kickass Earp.” Vicki smiled minimally at the woman in front of her. “So is Wave. _Willa_ is the problem.”

“It’s like she’s Willy Wonka and we were just her oompa-loompas.” Wynonna said, standing in silence for a second before letting out a loud, sudden laugh. “She’s _Willa Wonka_!”

“You did _not_ just make that joke!” Waverly let out a laugh more hysterical than her sister’s, a great part of the excitement she portrayed caused by the alcohol in her system. Suddenly, one of those catchy upbeat songs she always heard on the radio started playing, and her hands – that had been tangled with Nicole’s for an exaggerated and unnecessary amount of time (not that either of them made the effort to move away) – tightened around the bigger, paler ones. “I _love_ this song! _Officer Haught_ , come dance with me!”

Of course the redhead wouldn’t decline Waverly’s request – after all, she didn’t want to let the shorter girl down –, but she didn’t even have time to answer before her body had been pulled away from the seat by delicate, slim hands that had proven to be stronger than they seemed. The brunette let go of Nicole for one moment, in order to remove the green jacket she’d been wearing all night long and toss it carelessly on her sister’s lap. Wynonna groaned something, a cantankerous frown taking over her face as she watched drunken Vicki and Rosita engage in a conversation about particles and chemical reactions, but the alcohol had hit Waverly too hard for her to pay attention to whatever the deputy had babbled.

Waverly pulled Nicole by the hand to the other corner of the bar, where they wouldn’t have to worry about stumbling into tables. Haught was able to see Earp’s arms without any kind of fabric covering them for the first time, and the view of the toned, impeccable shoulders nearly made her run out of words. Never in her life had she been that stunned by a girl so quickly. Waverly Earp was… Fascinating. Interesting, humorous, sweet, gorgeous – and she didn’t even know it. Nicole couldn’t help but wonder how the Ancient History student had ever doubted herself, and she thought it was a shame that, growing up, no one valued Waverly enough. She wanted the green-eyed woman to know that she deserved to be cherished and appreciated. And she’d make sure that happened.

“You know, I’m so grateful Shorty got this place a jukebox. They didn’t have this kind of stuff when I worked here!” Waverly said slothfully, moving her hips talentedly to the rhythm of the song. Noticing Nicole wasn’t sure of what to do – she didn’t want to get too close and end up crossing a line –, Earp grabbed her hands and made them run through the sides of her body, the warm fingertips causing shivers that got stronger every time they touched another inch of the exposed skin – Waverly certainly was a fan of crop tops. “Don’t be so stiff. Here, just put your hands on my waist and I’ll do…” She wrapped her arms around the swimmer’s shoulders, letting her fingers gently curl up in the chestnut hair. “This.”

Nicole surely knew how to dance with a girl – her moves and the way that she kept her grip tight around the girl’s waist were responsible for most of her hookups throughout her life –, but being there, that close to Waverly, made her self-conscious about each and every step she took. Truth is the smaller girl had already caught Haught’s attention before the night they met. Every now and then, Nicole would see her reading peacefully in the most popular café in campus while sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows in it, or walking distractedly around PU. She’d always been intrigued by her natural beauty, and seeing the brunette up-close for the first time the night before, along with getting to know a little bit of her personality, only made Waverly seem even more captivating.

“You’re quiet!” The emerald-eyed woman said, hips shaking in a way that made Nicole’s entire body respond, moving as Waverly guided her. “What, you’re not having a good time? Am I– You don’t like hanging out with me?”

Haught tilted her head left, the comforting brown eyes focused only on the girl before her.

“No! Of course I like hanging out with you!” Her voice got louder as some guy turned up the volume of the jukebox. “And I’m having an amazing time! But, um, as much as I liked your sister and your roommate, maybe we could hang out alone next time. You know, just us. I want to get to know you better.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Earp smiled brightly, making some type of weird feeling rush through Nicole’s body. The song ended, and a laidback ballad started playing. Neither of the girls dared to move away, bodies dancing in a calmer motion than before. “I’m glad I met you, Nicole. I guess I haven’t thanked you yet for making such a gloomy night end up well.”

“You don’t have to thank me, it was _my_ pleasure. I have to admit, it was quite mortifying to come out of the water bare naked and find out that someone had witnessed the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my twenty-three years of existence. Thankfully you weren’t some perverted asshole or one of those sorority girls that would’ve made my life a living hell if they’d seen me.” Waverly let out a breathy giggle, wrinkles showing up in the corners of her eyes from the big smile that beautifully took charge of her face. “What I’m trying to say is… Getting caught was pretty embarrassing at first, but I’m glad that it was you who saw me naked.” After a split second, the redhead noticed that the statement had sounded so much better in her head, and desperately hoped that the girl hadn’t taken it the wrong way. “Oh, damn it! This didn’t come out the way I planned, I’d never have said it if I knew it would sound so–”

“Hey, cool down, Officer Haught! I know what you meant.” Waverly’s right hand ran through Nicole’s nape, the short nails softly scratching the area in a way that was delightful for the both of them. “Seriously, you _have_ to become a cop soon. I can’t wait to call you Officer Haught for real.”

“I’ve still got a couple years to go, but you can keep calling me Officer Haught as a joke until then. I like it.”

“I like it, too. It sounds good.” The Ancient History student repeated her words from the night before, her hips still moving whilst her arms rested on the redhead’s strong shoulders. “Though it _does_ sound a little kinky.”

Nicole couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Only if you say it kinkily.”

“What do you mean?” A confused frown popped up on Waverly’s face, followed by a muddle pout that made the Law student want to pinch her cheeks.

For a second, the thought that she wouldn’t mind saying it kinkily crossed Earp’s mind, but she immediately brushed it off. It was probably just the tequila.

“Wynonna calls Vicki Dr. Pretty Eyes and it doesn’t sound kinky. She says it mockingly, but not in a bad way. Kind of sarcastically.”

“But Wynonna likes Vicki.” The brunette gently pulled Nicole closer, trying not to trip on her own feet. “You know, _likes_ likes her.”

“Awww, seriously?” Haught’s voice softened. Puppies, babies and romantic love between two girls were her weak spots. Well, that and maybe – _just_ maybe – Waverly Earp.

“I mean, she hasn’t told me yet, but, yeah, I guess. She’s been staring angrily at Rosita all night and saying some incoherent stuff about how Vicki’s all up on her, when they clearly just share the same science-freaky interests.”

“Wynonna surely seems like the jealous type.” The taller woman giggled nonchalantly. “That’s so sweet.”

“Yeah, it is. So very sweet.” Waverly’s fingertips went back to playing with the red hair, tangling gently in a few manes, then sliding up to fix a lock behind Nicole’s ear. Subsequently, the shorter girl’s hand went straight to one of the pale cheeks. Green eyes glowing dazzlingly, lips semi-open in some sort of awe as the swimmer relaxed into her easy touch. “ _You’re_ sweet.”

“And _you’re_ drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.” Haught said lowly, her hands unnoticeably tightening around the other woman’s waist.

“I may be smashed into pieces, but I _do_ know what I’m saying. You’re very, very sweet, Nicole.”

“Thank you.” The slow ballad combined to Waverly’s eyes and the way their bodies moved together made Nicole feel like everyone around them had disappeared, and they were the only ones left. “You’re endearing. And smart. And pretty, and funny, and just an amazing person in general.”

“I’d blush hard if I weren’t too wasted to even get awkward at this point.” The green-eyed confessed. “Why do you keep saying all these nice things to me?”

“I think you should know how amazing you are.”

“Come on…” Waverly looked down, smiling shyly at the ground. As it turned out, the alcohol wasn’t enough to keep her from blushing at the swimmer’s praises. “I’m not all that.”

“You _are_ all that, and so much more.” The auburn-haired said, the words flowing naturally out of her mouth. “I mean it, Waves.”

The nickname came out automatically. Nicole was just about to apologize for forcing that kind of intimacy onto the smaller girl, but Waverly didn’t let her.

“You called me Waves.” She said, an unreadable expression on her face. The Law student braced herself – she was going to be called out. Of course. She’d barely known the brunette for twenty-fours and had already started saying all those things and calling her nicknames. She always blew everything up. “It sounds good when you say it. Your voice is pretty soothing.”

Nicole chewed on the inside on her cheek trying to hold back a smile – she didn’t succeed.

“I don’t know what to say.” Her expression became even tenderer. “Your voice is soothing, too.”

Waverly stepped closer to the paler woman.

“Also, I think you’re so much fun.”

“And you’re adorable.”

Earp took that as a sign to keep saying random compliments. “You’re a great swimmer.”

“Your smile is contagious.” Haught answered back.

“And I bet you make babies smile.”

The ginger head let out a genuine laugh. “Okay, I can’t really beat that right now. But I’ll think of something.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Before Nicole could say anything else, Wynonna drunkenly walked to her sister and tapped her shoulder at a weak pace.

“Hey, baby girl, I’m sorry to interrupt you and your girlfriend but Dr. Pretty Eyes and I are kind of spaced-out, so the hotter, more girly version of Albert Einstein got all of us two cabs. You know, since we won’t fit in just one.”

“Oh. Okay.” Waverly let go of the redhead’s shoulders, gripping her hand tightly around Wynonna’s arm as she tripped on her own feet. “Oopsie. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you Bukowski’d idiot.”

“Who?” Nicole asked, following the two girls as they walked to their booth.

“Bukowski’d. It’s a literary name for drunk and, well, Waverly likes Charlie B.” The youngest Earp turned around whilst she grabbed her jacket, staring at her sister confusedly. “What? I’ve been reading.”

“I didn’t know Waverly was a fan of Charlie Brown’s.” Vicki said with a big grin on her face, placing one hand on the elder Earp’s shoulder. “Man, I love Snoopy!” She paused, cleaning her throat. “‘There’s a full moon tonight. You know what this means?’” Shepherd quoted one of Snoopy’s comics. “It means they finally got it finished!’” A loud laugh came out of her mouth, and she took one of her index fingers to wipe a tear that threatened to run down her cheek. “Shit, that’s gold.”

“I didn’t mean Charlie Brown, pinhead. I meant Charles Bukowski. And this joke wasn’t even that funny.”

“Don’t you _dare_ insult Mr. Charles Monroe Schultz.”

“I’ll insult whoever I feel like insulting.” Wynonna shrugged. “And who the hell is that?”

“Um, _just_ the man responsible for creating Snoopy. And Charlie Brown. _And_ Woodstock. Among others.”

“How do you even know all that?”

“I had an essay on him in elementary school. He’s totally bitchen.”

“Your ability to recall random factoids at just the right time is impressive. Plus, never _ever_ say bitchen again.” Wynonna picked up her purse after Waverly payed the check –they had split it –, starting to lead the way out of Shorty’s as everyone followed her. “Come on, tiger, you’ve had a _lot_ to drink.”

“So have you.” The taxis had already arrived when they walked out of the saloon, and the blue-eyed woman opened one of the doors to the med student in an act of chivalry.

“Just get in the cab.”

While they argued over who was the drunkest of the two, Nicole gently touched Waverly’s back, causing the smaller girl to turn around and face her.

“Rosita and I will take one of the cabs, and you can take the other with Vicki and Wynonna. It just makes sense, since that way you won’t have to stop at PU before getting to your apartment.”

“Oh. Sure thing.”

“And, uh, listen… I had a great time tonight. We should do this again some time. You know, maybe just the two of us like I said before.”

“Absolutely.”

They stood quiet for a few seconds, doing nothing but look at each other with grimaces on their faces.

“Waverly, hurry up! Those heart eyes are making me sick!” Wynonna yelled out the cab window, impatiently tapping the yellow door while the driver told her to stop.

The Ancient History student giggled.

“Ignore my hammered sister.” She shrugged softly, tilting her head left. “So… I guess this is goodbye?”

“Oh, of course. Yeah.” The cute grimace on the green-eyed’s face seemed to make Nicole get in some type of trance, and her delicate voice brushed her daydreams away. “See you soon.”

“What? Get in here.” The toned arms wrapped themselves strongly around Haught’s torso and the two women just stood there for a moment, taking in the feeling of each other’s warm bodies as they got closer than ever.

After they broke the hug, the swimmer was the first one to speak.

“So, we’ll set up a next hangout.”

“Sure, totally.”

They both started walking towards their respective cabs, but then Nicole turned around, gazing at Waverly, and she couldn’t help but make one last observation.

“I mean it.”


	3. Some things are so good you just have to call them "she"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly - being the supportive adorable human she is - gets Nicole breakfast and helps her study for a test, while Vicki tries to come up with ways to help Wynonna release her anger.  
> Warnings of smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! first of all, i just have to thank you all for the nice comments and the kudos, please don't forget to leave them because they are great motivation.  
> *PLEASE READ THIS*: so, this week is going to be hard on me because of tests and essays and i'll try to post asap, but i'm not exactly sure of when, so i had an idea: i created a twitter account, and i'll talk about the fanfiction there (to let you guys know when i'll post and everything), please follow me (@haughtdamnit). i'll follow everyone back. :)  
> please check "it's just a cosmic joke" in my library, it's a f/f grey's anatomy fanfiction about lexie grey!
> 
> enjoy!

Nicole had always loved the concept of law. She’d wanted to be a police officer for as long as she could remember, despite a few of her father’s disapproving comments – he dreamed that one day she would become an award-winning swimmer, but that just wasn’t for her. She loved being in the water, of course – the adrenaline, the feeling of freedom, the crowd going wild; those were things she’d never get enough of –, and being on the swimming team certainly made her get some type of special attention among girls. But none of that could ever compare to the thought of helping people and keeping them safe. That was priceless for her.

With all that passion and dedication, the redhead had always been an exceptionally driven student. All of the professors had nothing but good things to say about her, and, as much as she hated to sound nerdy, her attendance records made her incredibly proud. She hated missing classes – law was one of her favorite things in the world. She’d had many girlfriends, but law was truly the love of her life. So Haught definitely felt weird when, for some reason, she wasn’t able to focus on what her Label Relations professor was saying on that unclouded Monday morning.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Waverly Earp’s bright drunken smile from Saturday night was all she could think about.

And just _maybe_ she had dreamt about that smile for the past two nights.

Nicole had no idea why she’d gotten so caught up on the brunette. Of course, she was amazing – but the Law student usually knew exactly what triggered her feelings towards someone and, with Waverly, there wasn’t one specific item. Perhaps it was everything combined. They’d met only three days before and already the smart, gorgeous, tiny girl wouldn’t get out of her head.

When the clock hit nine, Professor Laughlin dismissed everyone, causing Nicole to walk considerably fast given that she had swimming practice in ten minutes. Her quickness was in vain, though, because the professor made her stop.

“Haught.” The ginger head turned around at the door. “Don’t leave, yet.”

“Um, is there a problem, Professor Laughlin?” She took small steps to the desk. “Because I’m kind of late to swimming practice and the pool is considerably far, so I should probably get–”

“Don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong.” The professor interrupted Nicole, her index finger smoothly fixing the pair of glasses on her face. “I just noticed you’ve been a little out today.”

The swimmer chewed on the inside of her cheek. So it _was_ that obvious.

“I’m sorry, it’s… Between swimming, classes and essays I’ve been kind of stressed, especially with sectionals coming up. I promise I won’t be this sidetracked next class.” Nicole had never been a good liar, so of course the fact that she made that excuse in such short time surprised her – maybe because of the fact that it wasn’t _completely_ a lie. That tight schedule surely could be stressful.

“Understandable. I was just a little worried, you know, since my favorite student had never been distracted like that before.” Haught smiled minimally at the declaration, clenching her fist around the strap of her swimming bag as she waited for the woman to dismiss her. “You can go, now.”

“Thank you, Professor, I won’t let you down.”

“I’m sure you won’t.” As Nicole left the room, Laughlin called her attention again. “And if you ever need help to relieve the stress,” she said “let me know and maybe I can help you.”

The redhead had no response to the shameless wink the older woman threw her but to walk out of the classroom without saying anything else.  She wasn’t blind – Professor Laughlin might have been in her late thirties, though her perfect unmarked skin made it look like she was even younger, and Nicole had always acknowledged that she was _very_ pretty –, but that kind of blatant flirtation got the Law student wondering if she was simply seeing things. Maybe the other woman was just being nice.

Her tone certainly felt otherwise, though.

Nicole shook her head, trying to wipe the thoughts of her _professor_ – for Christ’s sake, she would never go that way – possibly hitting on her, walking so vaguely on campus that she didn’t even notice someone in front of her until their bodies collided.

“I’m sorr– Waverly?” Her previously tense expression softened immediately as the brunette placed one hand on her shoulder in order not to fall. “Why are you in such a rush?”

“Oh, hey, Nicole! Sorry about that.” Waverly took her hand off of the taller woman’s shoulder, the smile that made the corners of her eyes crinkle popping up on her face. “I’m running late to Cartography class, and…” As if it had been planned, her phone beeped, the ringtone that indicated a professor had emailed sounding loud and clear. “I’m sorry, I need to check this…” It was short email from… Well, the Cartography professor. Earp sighed in relief. “And the professor can’t make it. Guess I bumped into you for nothing.”

“It wasn’t for _nothing_. I mean, it’s always nice to see that smile of yours, especially in days like this one.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing serious. I just had this essay on Legal Counseling that I had to finish this morning, so there wasn’t even time for breakfast, then my Labor Relations professor simply _had_ to… Well, doesn’t matter. Now I’m late to swimming practice and will be there for the next two hours before I’m allowed to get out and grab something to eat. I mean, I _would_ be allowed to do this, if I didn’t have to swing by the library and pick up some law dictionaries to study for a Taxation 1 test I have coming up.”

“Wow, you’re certainly on a tight schedule.” Waverly smiled sympathetically, a tad worried that all of those obligations would be too hard on Nicole. “I won’t hold you back. Go get ‘em, tiger.”

The redhead grinned.

“I will.” She prepared to leave, but not without saying one more thing. “And thanks for the smile. I meant it when I said it helps me get through the day.”

“Now you’re just being overly nice.” Earp smiled again – not that it was a hard thing to do when Nicole was around. “This last one was for good luck.”

“You’re the best.” The auburn-haired woman said, starting to walk away. “See you around!”

 

/ / /

 

For some reason, it felt perfectly natural for Waverly to carry around a bag of the campus bakery along with two cups of coffee in a tray to the gym where the pool was located. After asking some questions to a few people nearby, she finally found Nicole by the bleachers, packing up her stuff while standing in a black speedo. Earp found herself startled by the view – the redhead’s swimmer body surely _was_ something else –, but managed to get herself back together before the other woman realized she’d been standing there.

“Howdy!” Damn it, she said howdy. _Howdy_. Waverly wondered if she could sound any stupider than that.

“Waverly!” Nicole turned around, both hands clenched around the white towel on her shoulders. She sounded enthusiastic – seeing the green-eyed girl was always a nice surprise, even though they’d just met. “Twice in a day, huh?”

“Yeah, except this time it wasn’t unexpected. At least not for me.” She lifted the paper bag up in the air. “I brought you breakfast. Well, actually I brought it for the both of us. You said you didn’t eat anything this morning and, um, I thought maybe we could pick up the books you need at the library and sit on campus while you study, and I can ask you questions. If you want to, of course.”

“Oh, that’s so nice of you! You really didn’t have to do this.” Haught grinned, regarded of the other girl’s kindness.

“I wanted to. You sounded sort of down. Just thought I’d cheer you up a little.”

“Could you get _any_ more awesome?” Nicole walked closer to Waverly, kissing her cheek hastily. The smaller girl’s face instantly went crimson. “This called for a kiss on the cheek. You’re _such_ a sweetheart.”

“T-thank you, it was really no big deal…”

The redhead thought Earp’s nervousness was adorable.

“I’m going to take a quick shower and get changed, and we’ll totally do what you said. Thanks again!”

“It’s, um, my pleasure.” Waverly smiled again. “Just don’t take too long, or your coffee will get cold! Plus, I hope you like banana nut bread.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m _obsessed_ with banana nut bread! I’d hug you right now, but my speedo’s soaking wet.” The brunette really didn’t mind, but she thought it would be weird to hug her anyway. “You can wait for me in the locker room, if you want.”

“Lead the way.”

 

/ / /

 

Nicole took a sip of her coffee, her eyes linked to the enormous book that rested on the table she and Waverly were sitting.

Actually, her eyes were on the person behind the book.

“Define financial year.” Waverly said, giving her banana nut bread a bite.

“A financial year is a twelve month period starting from April 1st and ending at March 31st which is used for calculating various annual financial statements in businesses and organization.” By the look on Earp’s face, Haught concluded she’d gotten the answer right. “Nailed it.”

“You most certainly did.”

“What are we down to?”

“Officer Haught, thirty-three, Taxation 1, zero. Taxation 1 is your bitch.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Nicole beamed, her fingertips tapping the table as the fresh wind hit her face pleasantly.

“Don’t go getting all cocky. We still have some questions left.”

“I think we’re cool for a break, now. Rest my mind a little so I’ll be _on fire_ next round!”

“You’re going to do great on this test, Nicole. Law _really is_ your thing.”

“What can I say? She’s the apple of my eyes.”

Waverly couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.

“Oh, you did _not_ just call Law a she!”

“Some things are so good you just have to call them ‘she’. My little list of shes includes Law, the swimming cap I only wear in important competitions and, of course, my cooking apron.”

“First of all, I feel the need to point out that the fact that you use a female pronoun to refer to the things you love is _really_ gay.” Earp dared to say, raising an eyebrow towards Nicole, who simply couldn’t hold a smile.

“Guilty.”

“And second of all, you can _cook_?” The redhead nodded smoothly, watching as the other girl’s eyes grew wide in admiration. “That’s impressive! Especially to me, since I can’t even put popcorn in the microwave without causing a nuclear explosion.”

“Are you really that bad?”

“Once I burned a wooden spoon. It literally went on fire right before my eyes.”

“Wow.” Nicole giggled, naturally leaning against the table, which caused them to be a little bit closer to each other. “I haven’t done much cooking in a while, with all this living in a dorm thing, but one day I’ll show you exactly why my paella makes girls line up at my door.”

She could show Waverly a _lot_ of things that made girls line up at her door.

“Okay, you _are_ getting cocky. Though I’d love you to come by my apartment some time and show me your skills.”

Nicole didn’t even think before saying:

“Well, then I hope you have a strong bed.”

Waverly’s face reddened instantaneously. The swimmer only noticed the sentence she’d let out after a second.

“Jesus, I didn’t mean to–”

The Ancient History student felt like the only way to prevent the imminent awkwardness that certainly was going to happen was to flirt back. _Of course_ Nicole was joking, so she could play along, right?

“My bed is _quite_ strong,” she interrupted the ginger head’s attempted apology “but you should know that the walls are pretty thin.”

Haught gulped, nearly sure that she’d misheard what the sweet, endearing girl had said. But she hadn’t. The frisky smile that Waverly carried on her lips made Nicole know that she hadn’t gotten anything wrong. Even though the redhead identified that the brunette was only being playful, she couldn’t help but let images run through her mind – naked, sweaty, loud images. She couldn’t think about those things. Well… It was _Waverly_. Her friend, whom she’d just met, who was most likely straight. Champ Hardy’s ex-girlfriend.

So, shaking the thoughts away, the Law student smirked.

“Then I guess I can’t show you _all_ my skills. You’d get a lot of complaints from the neighbors.” It was _just_ a joke, Nicole repeated to herself. Nothing serious.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Waverly bit back a smile. “And don’t suggest I’m loud during sex.”

“You suggested it first.” Haught chewed on the inside of her cheek, lazily looking at the people who walked by them on campus. Her eyes stopped wandering, stopping to stare disdainfully at a tall boy in a football jersey, who shamelessly made out with a girl Nicole knew better than she’d like. “Surprise, surprise, Champ the scamp and my beloved roommate are a public thing now. Perhaps a little too public.”

Earp rolled her eyes.

“Gross. He sends me voicemails every now and then, late at night. ‘Uh, Waverly, I’m sorry that you couldn’t appreciate my uniqueness. I’m willing to forgive you, even though that cheerleader I hung out with the other day let me do sex stuff that you didn’t. Um, bye.’” Her voice was exaggeratedly low, a scornful expression taking over her face. “Newsflash, Mr. Perfect, I faked my orgasms.” Waverly sighed. “Such an asshat.”

Nicole’s eyes went wide as she sensed the anger in the other girl’s voice.

“Whoa. You _definitely_ hold a grudge.”

“It’s not a _grudge_. It’s just… I spent _months_ with him, you know? I gave him part of my youth that I’ll never get back. And _everyone_ tried to warn me! For God’s sake, Wynonna threatened to hit me with her boot if I didn’t break up with him. Still I stood with him for a long time, taking in whatever kind of crap, lies and cheating he pulled. Smiling and nodding whenever he tried to tell me what to do. And I didn’t even realize.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Waves. Straight white boys are all the same.” The brown-eyed girl smiled sympathetically. “I mean, there are exceptions, but they’re pretty much like that. Boys are the worst.”

“I’ve only dated jerks. All my life. Ugh, I’m so done with Champ. I’m so done with _all_ of those stupid boys. The best relationship I’ve ever had was also the shortest, since we both had to leave for college, but, damn it, I wished they’d all been like that. Donna was the only one who ever cared about how I felt.”

Nicole caught her breath.

“Donna as… A girl?”

“Yeah. God, she was awesome, though we haven’t really talked since a few weeks after high school. I wonder where she is now.”

Haught’s jaw fell to the ground with that affirmation. So Waverly _wasn’t_ straight. The redhead was ecstatic through the first three seconds necessary for the information to sink in, but reality hit her harder than a rock. Just because the green-eyed liked girls, it didn’t mean she would _ever_ fall for Nicole. She could meet someone more interesting, prettier, funnier. They were _only_ friends.

So the Law student sucked it up and smiled to Earp, hopeful that the smaller woman hadn’t noticed her sudden mood swings.

“So…” The swimmer turned her head back to the books, gently leaning against the table. “Back to Law, now?”

“Absolutely.” Waverly pulled the books Nicole was looking at, making them slide on the table in a way that Haught wouldn’t be able to read the pages. “No peeking. What are the types of Provident funds?”

 

/ / /

 

It was shortly after three in the afternoon, and Vicki – who’d had an _extremely_ long day between doing an essay on Pathology and having an extra period of OMT – was already passed out in the couch. Mondays really got to her, since Sunday nights were always agitated and, besides the regular hangovers she got from drinking too much, moral hangovers made her want to be in the apartment all day long and eat as much ice cream as her stomach could take. And, as if her OMT professor wasn’t already annoying enough, Tucker Gardner – the typical momma’s boy in her class who couldn’t bear to her a “no” – just _had_ to bug her the entire time by trying to correct every single thing she said (even though he was always wrong).

So she _deserved_ that nap in the couch. It was her alone time and she was willing to _destroy_ anyone who dared to walk into the apartment and disturb her.

Well, there was _one_ exception.

“Perfect. _Just_ perfect!” Wynonna exclaimed as soon as her purse fell to the ground, immediately after she entered the flat, and her all of her case files were spread over the floor. “Self-reminder: it _can_ get worse.”

Shepherd, who’d always been a light sleeper, woke up straightaway, ready to ruthlessly stab whoever it was that woke her up from an absolutely impeccable dream that may or may not have involved Dua Lipa.

“Waverly, I swear to God–” She sat on the sofa, eyes slightly narrowed, only then noticing that the _other_ Earp had been to one to make all that fuzz. “Wynonna? How did you get in?”

“The door was unlocked.” The blue-eyed couldn’t seem to pick up all the files without dropping them again, and started getting considerably annoyed at the other girl, who hadn’t moved one finger to help her. “Are you just going to stand there enjoying the view or are you going to give me a hand?”

“Oh.” Vicki blinked tightly, in an attempt to wake up properly. “I’m sorry. It’s just… You kind of woke me up, so I’m still a little dazed.” She got up, and walked small steps to where the yellow envelopes were scattered. “Wait a second, why are you here at this time of the afternoon?”

“Why were you _sleeping_ in this time of the afternoon?”

“It’s been a long day, and I asked you first.”

“Fine.” They finished collecting the files, and Wynonna was the first one to stand up again. “I had to deal with this _very_ irritating rapist at work today and it’s against the rules to punch him in the face unless he’s the one to make the first attempt to physically harm me. I really wanted to hit someone and Waverly is incredibly good at talking sense into my head, so it felt right to come here and hope that she helps me contain my anger.”

“Ugh. It must’ve been hard for you.” The med student sat back on the couch, watching as the other woman did the same. “I’ve had my share of annoying male figures today, too. Had to mentally come up with reasons why I shouldn’t shove a scalpel up Tucker Gardner’s ass.”

“I honestly can’t even think of one. I mean, you’d definitely get arrested, but it would probably be worth it.”

“I _know_ it would be worth it.” Vicki let her head rest on the back of the couch, face pointed towards Wynonna. “Waverly’s not home right now. She sent me a text saying she’s helping Nicole out with homework or something, and it’ll apparently be a while until she comes back.”

“Oh. Okay.” Earp sighed. “Can I just stick around for a while? You know, to make sure I won’t kick anyone’s ass and lose my job.”

“Make yourself at home. There’s chunky monkey in the freezer. It helps me not have murderous thoughts regarding Tucker Gardner.”

“Nah, food doesn’t really do it for me. When I want to punch someone, I _have_ to punch someone. Or talk to Waverly.”

Vicki got a tad closer to the deputy, eyes focusing only and exclusively on the pale, pretty face. “You can talk to _me_.” She noticed her tone had been accidently too serious, so she cleared her throat in hopes that it would unstiffen the atmosphere. “If you want to, of course.”

Wynonna chewed on the inside of her cheek, pausing for a moment. She normally wouldn’t open up to anyone other than her sister and – rarely – her boss and friend, Dolls. But she liked Vicki. For some reason, she trusted her. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have a nice talk with the girl.

“I’m tough.” She decided to start. The thoughts she’d been having all month were cluttered inside of her head, leaving her with no idea of where to begin. So she just said whatever came to mind. “I’ve always been tough. I was tough when my mother left, and when my dad died and we went to live with Gus. I grew up to become a damn deputy. I _am_ tough.”

Shepherd had a confused frown on her face.

“Okay…” She muttered. “You _are_ tough. Probably the toughest person I know, actually.”

“Exactly. I’m tough and _everybody_ knows it.” Earp took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she leaned her back against the couch. “I love my job. But, damn it, it surely _can_ make me feel weak sometimes. And you and I both know that I’m _not_ a weak person.” She pouted, involuntarily tilting her head forward. “Though right now I’m so weak I’m opening up to my little sister’s friend.”

“Everyone feels like that sometimes, Wynonna. Nobody’s indestructible. Not even the tough ones.” Vicki entwined her own fingers together. “And I’m not just your sister’s friend. I’m _your_ friend. You should know that I’m here for whatever you need.”

As much as Vicki wasn’t an emotional person, getting sensitive and soft on Wynonna was something she could do at surprising ease.

“I’m _supposed_ to be indestructible, it’s what everyone expects from me. Then some hateful serial rapist or killer comes in and I can’t seem to hold myself together. It’s never been like this before, and I _really_ don’t understand what’s going on. I’ve always wanted to punch them, of course, but lately I’ve gotten the _worst_ feelings and all that negativity turns into some kind of whacky tension and _out of this world_ anger. So I’ve been irrationally angry for the past month. I’m afraid it’s going to make me go batshit and do something I’ll regret.”

“You can’t just hope that the anger goes away. See, we all respond differently to feelings we don’t want to have. In your case, it’s this negativity caused by the assholes you have to deal with on a daily basis, because you think that you can’t take your job anymore. But you _can_.” Shepherd smiled minimally at Wynonna, trying to boost her confidence. “I’ve always known that I wanted to be a doctor, but, sometimes, when we get to go to the hospital environment for classes, I have second thoughts. All the pain and death just makes you want to give up. And it never really goes away, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t take it. I just have to find a way to blow off some steam.”

“What helps you?”

“Exercising. Running and just going to the gym overall in regular days, and, when I _really_ need to push hard, boxing. I’m kind of a rockstar at it.”

Wynonna had to hold back the urge to flash Vicki one of those brazen smirks of hers, because the med student’s statement had made her feel all kinds of stuff. Thoughts ran through her mind – Shepherd’s contracted biceps while she punched a heavy bag, the sweat dripping down her forehead and into the ground whenever she leaned forward, her abdomen into an intense hour of training.

She gulped. “Well, not everyone has an inflexible schedule, Muhammad Ali. I’m a deputy. I can’t sign up for boxing with my work hours being this crazy.”

“You don’t _have_ to. That’s the thing. What works for me might not work for you. Some people paint–”

“Do I look like Leonardo Da-fucking-Vinci?” Earp interrupted the other woman, quickly closing her eyes and sighing deeply. “I’m sorry. See? I’m so angry it harms people around me.”

“It’s okay, I understand it. Um, as I was saying, there are people who repeat mantras, for example. I met a guy at the gym who’s served in Iraq, and he always says ‘I’m cool, calm and collected’ whenever the flashbacks hit him. You can also get a stress-relief toy, I’ve heard they’re very effective.”

“Oh, you did _not_ just suggest that I get a dildo. I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that.”

Vicki couldn’t help but let out a loud, exaggerated laugh.

“What the fuck?!” She basically yelled, whilst Wynonna stood still, carrying a confused expression on her face. “I meant those stress balls, you pervert!”

The blue-eyed girl’s lips parted, the frown slowly disappearing, her eyes widening smoothly in comprehension.

“Oh… My bad.”

“I understand you confusion.” Shepherd breathed in deeply, successfully controlling her urge to keep laughing. “You think those could work for you?”

“Honestly, no. These toys only get me even more pissed. None of the things you said can help me.” Wynonna stood up, walking carelessly to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

On her way back to the couch, she accidently stepped on one of those stupid poetry books Waverly couldn’t seem to keep in just one place, causing the water to fall all over her top and a little bit on the edge of Vicki’s sweatshirt.

“HOLY MOTHERFUCKING JESUS!” She yelled, placing the empty glass on the coffee table and looking down to her soaking t-shirt. “I CAN’T _FUCKING_ BELIEVE THIS!”

The med student got up at a fast pace, tenderly placing one hand on Wynonna’s shoulder and gazing into her eyes.

“Hey. Calm down.”

“This day just _couldn’t_ get any shittier!”

“Whoa. It’s just water, okay? It’ll dry up. You can put on one of Waverly’s t-shirts, or you can get one of mine, since that girl seems to only wear crop tops. Yeah? It’s alright. You can go change in my room.”

Wynonna had to take what seemed to be her billionth deep breath that day.

“Fine. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

While the deputy walked into Vicki’s room and closed the door, the younger girl took her sweatshirt off – she was wearing a tank top underneath, so it was okay. After a few seconds waiting, she heard Earp’s voice yell her name from the room, which made her get up instantly and go check on the woman.

The shirtless woman who wore a _very_ appealing black lace bra.

Her back was turned to the door, and she didn’t even hear Vicki entering the room, which made the med student need to clear her throat to be noticed.

“Needed me?” She muttered, the sight of the pale back – with a few stretch marks that made everything even sexier – already being enough to make her nervous.

“Oh, yeah, actually. It’s just that I don’t know where you keep your t-shirts, and I didn’t want to open all the drawers, so I thought it was better to call you and ask– Whoa.” As soon as Wynonna turned around, she couldn’t keep herself from looking at Vicki’s biceps – she’d never really stopped to notice them.

But she really should have.

Instead of saying something to break the silence that had been installed in the room, Wynonna simply kept staring at the other girl’s arms, without even perceiving that she looked like a complete idiot. Vicki wasn’t much different – the deputy’s body was, without a doubt, incredible. She could stare at it all day long.

And she couldn’t help but bite her lower lip once she noticed Wynonna felt the same.

But, then, an idea came to her mind. Something that she definitely couldn’t say out loud and even _think_ of doing, because once she did things were going to get weird and someone would end up getting hurt. And if one of them gets hurt, Waverly gets hurt.

Though Vicki couldn’t even care anymore.

“Hey, um… I know something else that can help you release that anger.”

“And what would that be?” Wynonna’s voice came out so low it sounded like a whisper, and she didn’t even move her eyes.

“Sex.” The younger girl murmured. “I hear it’s effective.”

The blue-eyed took a step forward. Then another. And then another one.

“But where would I find someone to have sex with me?”

“I’m sure we can work on that.”

And, just like that, Wynonna leaned forward, her lips meeting Vicki’s.

It was nothing at all like those passionate kisses in movies – it was messy, desperate, hot. Like they had craved each other’s mouths secretly for a very long time, and that was finally it. The moment they’d both imagined more times than they liked to admit, but thought that would never happen.

And it was _so much_ better than they could’ve ever predicted.

Wynonna let her tongue fight a battle with Vicki’s, taking a few steps – but never breaking the kiss – so she could slam the door and push the slightly shorter girl against it. Her hands went to the bottom of her tank top, agilely pulling it over the med student’s head and tossing it somewhere in the room.

“Hold it, fast hands.” Vicki said, moving her hands down to grip Earp’s waist. “You don’t have to be in charge, okay? I’m here to help you relax. Just lay back and let me take care of the rest.”

“As much as I appreciate the offer,” Wynonna breathed out, closing her eyes once she felt the warm hands tightening around her body. “I think I’ll pass. I’m angry. Let me release it.” Her lips met the girl’s neck, sliding up her jaw until they got to her ear lobe. “Hard and relentless.”

 Shepherd’s legs nearly failed.

“That sounds good, too.”

The deputy pushed her body forward, messily guiding Vicki towards the bed and falling in it, on top of the younger girl. She straddled Waverly’s best friend, slowly crawling backwards so she could unstring the black joggers the med student was wearing.

As soon as the pants were set somewhere on the floor, Wynonna started making her way back up, leaving wet kisses, licks, bites and even small hickeys all over Vicki’s waistline and abdomen.

“You’re okay with marks, right?” She asked before continuing – it’s always a good idea to ask permission before branding someone else’s body.

“Anything that’ll help you feel better.”

“Neck too?”

“I don’t mind wearing a scarf for the next few days.”

Wynonna got to Vicki’s neck, her talented lips and teeth nipping all the right places while her tongue soothed the tender places where she went a little too strong. Shepherd couldn’t lie – she loved every second of it, even though that tiny sensible portion of her brain told her that they should probably stop. It all went away as soon as Earp hit her soft spot, making a loud, needy groan came out of her mouth involuntarily.

“How’s that for blowing off some steam, huh?” Wynonna teased, sighing profoundly as Vicki’s hands ran through her back and effortlessly unclasped her bra.

“You’re not the only one who’s been stressed out lately, I need this, too.”

“I want you to let it _all_ out.”

Vicki quickly rolled around in bed, changing positions so that she could be on top of Wynonna. She drew a trail of kisses down the deputy’s jawline and neck, taking some extra time to explore her sternum before letting her tongue meet the perky breasts.

The blue-eyed whimpered audibly, carelessly letting lower sounds leave her mouth in a way that only motivated Shepherd to continue. As one hand played with the right nipple, her mouth worked on the left, and the other way around.

Vicki didn’t stop – not until she felt Wynonna’s soft fingers slip under her panties’ waistline and meet her soaking center.

“Wy…” She muttered, lifting her eyes up to look at the brunette. “Are you _sure_ you want to do this?”

“There’s no coming back right now.”

“I’m serious.”

“Yes, pinhead.” Wynonna grinned beautifully, and that melt Vicki’s heart. She hadn’t realized how much she actually liked the deputy until then. “I’m sure, okay? Thanks for checking, it’s very thoughtful of you.” Shepherd wondered what kind of people Wynonna had slept with in her life. Consent isn’t _thoughtful_ , it’s just basics. It’s essential, not a kindness. “Are _you_ sure?”

“Yes, please. Absolutely. Uh-huh.”

“Alright, I’m flattered for the many confirmations.” Earp chuckled.

“I meant it when I said I needed this.”

“Just relax.”

Wynonna inverted positions once again, and then removed Vicki’s underwear completely so she could have better access to her center. She stood on her knees, hands placed on the younger girl’s inner thighs, and the initial hot, steamy atmosphere was installed in the room again. Her warm breaths caused Vicki to whimper, eyes closed as she opened her mouth to tell Wynonna to hurry – but she didn’t. She realized she just wanted the blue-eyed woman to take her time.

Finally, Wynonna’s soft, velvety lips left an open-mouthed kiss right on Vicki’s clit, making the shorter girl’s entire body shiver. Earp started to lick downwards, slowly going from her clit to her entrance, and then back up. She repeated the motion several times – the sounds Vicki made were just the motivation she needed –, and then added one finger to make the other woman feel even better. Suddenly, she wasn’t so angry anymore.

Maybe it had something to do with _who_ she was with, not _what_ she was doing. But she really didn’t want to think about that.

“Holy fuck…” Vicki yelped as the deputy penetrated her index finger slowly, without waiting any longer to add the middle finger, too. “You know _just_ what you’re doing, Wynonna.”

“Say my name again.” Earp murmured.

“ _Wynonna_.”

That seemed to be something the older woman rather enjoyed, because her fingers immediately stared moving faster and deeper. Hard and relentless, just like she’d said.

“D-don’t stop…”

“Why? Do you like when I do this?” She curled her fingers, brushing them against Vicki’s upper walls. Her thumb stimulated the girl’s clit, lips alternating between sucking on the med student’s thighs and abdomen.

“Don’t _fucking_ stop.”

“I think that answers my question.” Wynonna’s hand moved incessantly and, when she inserted a third finger, Vicki nearly came. But she wanted to hold it for as long as she could. “So wet.”

They spent a few more minutes like that, until Shepherd just couldn’t contain herself any longer. She grabbed a handful of the sheets, almost too overwhelmed by the sensations Wynonna was providing her, and came with a loud, husky moan. The deputy didn’t stop – she kept thrusting, causing Vicki’s orgasm to be prolonged and gradually slowed her pace. When she finally saw that the med student was too sensitive to be touched, she removed her fingers and lustfully sucked on them, making sure they were licked clean before lying in bed.

“Wow.” Shepherd said, still trying to normalize her breathing, and lifted one hand up towards Wynonna. “This calls for a high-five.”

“I guess it does.” Earp high-fived Vicki, incapable of taking the smile off of her face. “You were right. This _did_ appease me.”

“Who said we’re done?”

“What?”

A confused frown took charge of Wynonna’s face, but it quickly went away once Vicki sat on the bed again, a dirty grin on her face, and overlapped the deputy. Her hands went to the clasp of her bra, unhooking it nonchalantly.

“You already made me feel good.” She took Wynonna’s hands, making her fingertips gently touch the straps that held that last piece of clothing around her body. “Now let _me_ make you feel good.”

 

/ / /

 

“I’m thirsty.” Wynonna said after a few minutes of just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. “Just noticed that I went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and didn’t even drink it.”

“Well, suit yourself.”

“You want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”

Wynonna got up, quickly putting on her pants and Vicki’s sweatshirt – hers was still wet – before leaving the bedroom.

She couldn’t believe what she saw next. _Who_ she saw next. She didn’t know if she’d ever see that face again. Most importantly, she didn’t even know _how_ that person had gotten into Waverly’s apartment. _Damn it, the door_. Wynonna was stationary – she was sitting on the couch, face pointed right towards the door to Vicki’s bedroom. A devilish smile popped up on her face as the deputy walked out of it. No signs of surprise – as if she knew unerringly what had happened.

“It’s been awhile, Wy.” Her voice still sounded the exact same, and Earp was worried. Not for herself. She was worried for Waverly. “For the sounds you were making, I see that you’re _really_ getting along with Waverly’s friends, huh? She always thought you were the better sister, anyway.”

Wynonna gulped.

Willa was back in Purgatory.


	4. Girls are more interested in other girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's shocked by Willa's sudden appearance. Waverly opens up to Nicole. Vicki and Wynonna try to talk through the events from the day before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeeey!!
> 
> firstly, i'm incredibly sorry for taking this long to update. the past two weeks have been insane, and i've barely even had time to breathe. i promise i'll try to update faster next time - but, if i take longer than expected, don't worry. i'm /not/ giving up on this.  
> if you like grey's anatomy, please check out my lexie grey f/f fanfiction, "it's just a cosmic joke".  
> please don't forget to leave comments and kudos, they keep me motivated. i love reading what you have to say about this work!  
> >> my twitter account is @haughtdamnit, i'll follow everyone back. (and am always up for a chat.) <<  
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE 5,000+ HITS AND 300 KUDOS!! THEY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!! you guys are the best!! ♥
> 
> enjoy this chapter!!

“What are you doing here?”

“Visiting my beloved sisters. Well, _sister_.” Willa shrugged, standing up from the couch and walking towards Wynonna. Her cold fingertips met her sister’s neck, making the blue-eyed angrily close her eyes in response. “I’d ask you the same thing, but I think I already know the answer. You should probably wear a scarf for the next few days, sis.”

Willa was one of the few people in the world that could get Wynonna to be quiet. When they were children, they were inseparable – no one could break them apart and, as much as Wynonna wanted to make Waverly feel included, Willa always talked her into doing the exact same opposite. Poor Waverly always ended up feeling like an outsider in her own home. Later, the middle-sister came to realize how much the older one imposed things on her. She’d felt like their relationship had been mutual her whole life, but, when reality hit her like a baseball bat, she noticed that Willa was nothing but a devious player. She didn’t treat Wynonna like a sister – she treated her like an inferior follower; as if she was the queen bee and Wynonna was just a hopeless vassal.

And still the deputy couldn’t seem to face up to her – after all, Willa was just a reminder that Wynonna wasn’t indestructible.

“How– Why are you here? You don’t just show up. You need a reason to.”

“I’d expect that distraught little pout from Waverly, but even _you_ , Wy-Wy? What is it, aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Of course I am.” She lied. “I just– I don’t understand.”

“As much as I love New York, having an important job at a lavish fashion company _does_ get stressful.” Willa tilted her head right, flashing her sister a side smile. Wynonna had to hold herself together not to roll her eyes. “And I missed this boring small city vibe.” She sighed, sitting back down on the couch. “I tried the homestead, by the way, but no one was there so I just came here. Also, I _really_ think Wave should redecorate this… Place. The yellow lamps kind of make it feel like a dive bar.”

Wynonna didn’t know what to say next – which was rare. Normally, it was natural for the brunette to make ironic, fast comments that had gotten Sheriff Nedley to start calling her a smart mouth.

But someone broke the silence. It wasn’t Willa, it wasn’t Wynonna. It wasn’t even Vicki who was still oblivious in the next room.

It was… Nicole Haught?

“Ugh, this joke only works in Spanish.” The redhead said as Waverly opened the apartment door. “I swear to God, even though I learned a _lot_ in my time in Spain and the cultural contrast was amazing, this joke is one of the best things I got from there. Rosi laughed for a week after I told her. By the way, you have a lovely apartment.”

“Thanks! And I know how that goes. There’s this joke in Norwegian that, I mean…” Waverly chuckled. “God, it’s so funny. But it makes no sense whatsoever in English.” She opened the fridge, taking a look at everything inside of it and mentally cursing herself for letting Vicki do the grocery shopping that week. Nothing but a few drinks and sweets – and _lots_ of ice cream. “You want anything? Water, beer, tea…?”

The two women that had just gotten in seemed so caught up on each other that they didn’t even notice Willa and Wynonna standing in the other side of the room.

“Tea actually does sound great. Just sit back and I can make it for the both of us, if you want me t– Oh.” Nicole finally realized that they weren’t alone, and flashed Wynonna a minimum smile. “Hey, Wynonna. I didn’t see you there.” Soon enough, she looked at Willa and her grin widened a little, turning into a polite yet enchanting beam. “Hi, I’m Nicole.”

“Oh, God…” Waverly whispered to herself, involuntarily leaning against the kitchen counter. No. _No, no, no_.

“Willa Earp.” The oldest Earp sister returned the smile, her tone a tad softer than usual. _Typical Willa_ , Waverly thought. Playing nice in front of people. “Nice to meet you. And, hey, Waves. Won’t you come give your big sister a hug?”

“What–What are you doing here?”

“Gosh. Is it _that_ hard to believe that I just missed you guys?”

Nicole’s grin disappeared as soon as the woman introduced herself. She just stood still, remembering a few of the stories Waverly had told her about Willa – cruel stories, that went _way_ further than regular big siblings playing pranks on the little ones. Haught got closer to the green-eyed girl, gently holding her hand behind the counter. Waverly didn’t say anything – she didn’t have to. Instantly, she let out a slow, broken breath she’d caught as soon as she noticed her sister in the room. Just the feeling of Nicole’s warm hand brushing up against her cold one was already soothing – even though it didn’t appease her entirely. God, Willa was back at home. _Willa_.

“Wynonna? What’s taking you so–” Vicki walked out of the room – dressed, for Wynonna’s relief –, but stopped walking as soon as she saw the not-so-familiar face. “Bloody hell. Willa.”

It wasn’t news to Willa that Vicki didn’t like her – she’d made it very hard not to notice since the day that they had met. Anyone who dared to hurt Waverly went immediately to Shepherd’s blacklist. And it was clear that the older Earp couldn’t stand her little sister’s friend either.

“Vicki, hi. You could at least pretend to be eager to see me, huh? It’s the polite thing to do.”

“What are you talking about? I’m _always_ pleased to see an Earp girl.”

“Perhaps a little _too_ pleased.” Willa winked.

Vicki gulped, hear turning straight to Wynonna – gladly, Waverly and Nicole didn’t seem to notice. Waverly was still too busy digesting the situation and Nicole was busy focusing on the youngest Earp.

“Hey.” She muttered lowly enough so none of the other girls would hear. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m… I don’t know. Kind of thrown, I guess.” The Ancient History student gripped the paler hand tighter. “Usually there’s preparation when Willa comes to town. She shows up at the homestead, not the apartment. I have time to get ready.”

“I can go back to my dorm if you want to. We’ll continue this another time.”

“ _Don’t go_.” She said a bit desperately. In that moment, it felt like the only one capable of keeping her calm was the redhead – Wynonna usually did it, but, when it came to Willa… She didn’t know what to expect. The deputy could be easily fooled into doing whatever their big sister wanted. “I mean… Can you please stay? Please.”

“Yes, of course. I’m here, Waves. For whatever you need.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Getting to spend more time with you is _my_ pleasure.” Nicole couldn’t help but notice how Willa’s presence affected Waverly – not that it was a hard thing to recognize –, so she felt drawn to make the tinier woman know she was good. She wanted Waverly to know she was the _best_. “You’re incredible. Seriously, you turned what I thought was going to be an awful day into the best one I’ve had in a long time.”

“You don’t have to be nice just because Willa’s here. I’m a big girl.”

“I’m just being truthful. And you’re _no_ t big, you’re actually very tiny.”

The youngest Earp fought back a smile, gently poking Haught’s rib. “Are you making fun of my height now, light pole?”

“I’m not making fun of it, in fact I think it’s adorable. And I’m not _that_ tall!”

“Yes, you are.” The Ancient History student chuckled, biting her lower lip as her eyes turned to the redhead. “I’m not complaining, though, it makes you an excellent hugger.”

“That’s genuinely one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me.” Nicole grinned beautifully. “Thanks, your hugs are amazing, too.”

“It’s getting kind of steamy in here, huh?” Willa said louder than usual, looking straight at the two girls in the kitchen. Her eyes fell on Wynonna for a second, soon enough going back to the brunette and the ginger head. “And here I thought my _other_ sister was the one we should keep an eye out for.”

“What?” Waverly said lowly, a confused frown popping up on her face as her oldest sister smirked viciously.

“You know what I mean, Waves. I thought you and puppy eyes were just friends, but, wow. Those eyes don’t fool anyone.”

“Oh, you must’ve gotten it wrong.” Haught got into the conversation, straightening her back as a sign of confidence. She wouldn’t let Willa tease the smaller girl. “Waverly and I are just very good friends.”

“Whatever you say, ginger head. Are you sure you don’t want to be more, though?”

“Quit it, Willa.” The youngest Earp in the room let go of Nicole’s hand, crossing her arms firmly as her voice came out almost inaudible. She was afraid to talk to her sister like that.

“Aw, I’m just messing with you two! By the way, where’s that hottie you date, sis? What was his name, again? Charles?”

“Champ.” Waverly answered in the same tone as before, gulping right after she said her ex-boyfriend’s name. “And we don’t date anymore. I broke up with him.”

“Oh, Waverly! You know you can’t do any better, don’t you? I mean… Those forearms! I still don’t see how _he_ could ever have dated _you_.”

The Ancient History student chewed on the inside of her cheeks, eyes incessantly staring at the floor. Nicole didn’t care what Willa thought, so she just put one arm around Waverly’s shoulders and stood in silence, knowing that the contact would help her at least a little bit. _All_ she wanted was for Waverly to feel like she was worth more than her big mean sister thought.

“There’s more to people than forearms, Willa.” Vicki jumped in the conversation. “Things that Waverly has and Champ doesn’t. Like a brain. But I don’t think you’d know.”

“Are you suggesting I don’t have a brain?”

“I said what I said.” Shepherd shrugged. “Plus, Waverly’s forearms are _way_ hotter than Champ’s.”

“ _Word_.” Nicole nodded, raising her index finger to emphasize her statement, but soon enough realized that _everyone_ in the room had stopped to stare at her – Waverly included. “Um… I’m kind of thirsty so I think I’ll just, uh, grab a glass of water. Don’t mind me.”

The youngest Earp chewed on the inside of her cheek, desperately trying to hold back a grin.

“Haught Damn, your face is getting the color of your hair.” Wynonna teased, watching as the redhead opened the cabinet and pretended not to listen. She turned to her older sister, remembering a question she’d been meaning to make since her arrival. “Hey, um, Willa… Are you staying in the homestead?”

“Actually, the company’s paying my staying in that big hotel on the outskirts of town.”

The middle sister wanted to sigh in relief – she wouldn’t be able to stand being with Willa in the same house for too long. But of course she wouldn’t say it out loud. Instead, she faked a scowl, saying:

“Aw, that’s too bad.”

“Oh, I know how much you missed me, sis. But I promise we’ll get to spend a _lot_ of time together. Just you and me. The Earp sisters together again.”

“Yay.” She faked enthusiasm.

Vicki, who was behind Willa, pointed two fingers to her own head and pretended like she was shooting it. Wynonna wordlessly, discreetly nodded. She just _knew_ that the next few days weren’t going to be good. Depending on how long her sister was staying, the next weeks or even months would suck.

Waverly watched everything silently, already used to not being included when it came to her sisters. She _really_ wanted to tell Willa to go back to New York and her big fancy company, but that just wasn’t the way things worked. The oldest sister always got what she wanted, when she wanted, and the other two couldn’t dream of disagreeing.

“It’s going to be _amazing_. I can’t wait to spend some quality time with you.” Willa sighed, grinning brightly as she picked up one of her bags. “But I think I’d better go now. It’s getting late and it was a _long_ flight here. I kept the cab driver waiting, didn’t know it was going to take so long.”

“Oh, sure. See ya. Text me, call me, mail me, do whatever you want. Yay. I’m glad you’re back for now.” Wynonna babbled, subtly grabbing the other suitcase and walking towards the door, as sign for Willa to follow her.

“Uh, ‘kay.” The elder Earp opened the door and, after Wynonna helped her put the luggage in the elevator, she disappeared from their eyes.

Nicole walked around the living room, sitting on the couch as she reached it. Waverly sat right next to her – even though there was plenty of space on the other end of the sofa –, and sighed audibly.

“I can’t believe she’s back.”

“For _now_. It’s just a time off, how long can it be?” Vicki shrugged.

“Oh, Dr. Pretty Eyes, you don’t know Willa like we do. Her time off can mean three days or it can mean three months. You never know.” The deputy took a seat on the armchair, letting her feet rest on the coffee table. “I don’t want to do sisterly stuff with her!”

“At least she _invited_ you to do sisterly stuff with her.” Waverly looked down at her own thighs, letting out a heavy sigh as Haught wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

“Screw your sister.” The swimmer said. “I’m sorry, but she’s kind of a dickhead.”

“ _Kind of?_ ” Vicki raised an eyebrow. “She’s a _complete_ dickhead. Annoying ass manipulative asshole. You girls should stand up to her.”

“I don’t want to cause trouble. She’ll go home soon, let’s just take it as far as it goes.” The Ancient History student shrugged.

Haught knew she was trying to act cool about Willa’s visit, when, in fact, that bothered her immensely. Actually, _everyone_ in the room knew that. The oldest Earp sister’s sudden appearance was inconvenient for all of them: Wynonna couldn’t be herself around her sibling, Vicki simply hated her guts, and Willa could really make Waverly’s life a living hell without much effort. Nicole felt bad that Waverly felt bad.

“Well, I can always punch her if you want me to.” Shepherd offered, a smirk on her face as if the suggestion was completely plausible. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Actually, it’s on my to-do list: punch a jerk in the face.”

Wynonna giggled. “I’ll consider it.”

The four women stood in silence for a while, and the quietness helped Waverly stop trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Willa was going to stay in Purgatory indefinitely and focus on her _other_ sister.

“Wy…” She muttered, narrowing her eyes as her index finger pointed to the blue-eyed’s thorax.

“Yes, baby girl?”

“What were you doing in my apartment before I got here and why are you wearing Vicki’s sweatshirt?”

The deputy stood still, trying to formulate a sentence in her head. Usually, coming up with excuses was easy for her, but, with the past events, her sleeping with Vicki had been the less weird thing that day. She hadn’t even noticed she was still wearing the med student’s top.

“Oh! Uh, this thing?” She looked down, then back up at her sister. “You know, it’s actually a funny story.”

“Then tell me.”

“Um, I was… And–and Vicki, she… Uh…”

“Wynonna had a _long_ day at work.” Vicki interrupted the older girl, who couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. “There weren’t any good cases so Nedley just told her and Dolls to work on a… Car crash. Yup. Drunk driver. Threw up all over her t-shirt, so she came here and I let her take a shower and borrow mine.”

The marshal babbled a discreet “thank you”.

“Why didn’t she just go to the homestead and take a shower there?”

Nicole had seen everything. The despairing eyes, Wynonna’s stuttering and Vicki’s terrible but fast answer to Waverly’s question. She’d always noticed how messy the blue-eyed woman’s hair was, and that Shepherd’s pants were _very_ creased, like she’d just picked them up from the floor and put them on. And, of course, desperately fixing locks of hair so they’d cover their necks – even though Nicole had already noticed a few purple marks.

Wynonna and Vicki had slept together.

She really didn’t know how Waverly didn’t see that. Well, maybe the swimmer noticed because she used to be in that place as a teenager. Whenever her “friend” Marissa – who’d actually been her girlfriend for several months – had a sleepover at her house before she came out to her parents, the redhead’s mother would always ask them what they were up to and why they spent so much time in the room, and they responded quite similarly to Vicki and Wynonna.

“You know, Waves…” The Law student said, trying to help the two girls out – they looked like lost puppies, and, well, if they didn’t want Waverly to know what had happened they surely had a reason to. “The police station is very close to campus.”

“Exactly, Haught Stuff.” Wynonna smiled a little too wide. “And my t-shirt was _stinking_. Plus, what if Dolls needed my help with any other case? I had to be nearby.”

Shepherd’s eyes met Nicole’s, and she jabbered an inaudible “I owe you”. The redhead just leered, letting a single dimple pop up on her cheek.

“Makes sense.” Waverly sighed, her expression stiffening again. “I can’t stop thinking about Willa. I might sound a little over the top, but… Whoa. Having her here sucks.”

“You don’t sound over the top at all.” Her sister said. “But you’ve always been tough, kid. If you survived your entire childhood living in the same house as Willa, you’ll survive this.”

“I know I will. I just wish I didn’t have to.”

“It’s okay, Waves. You can hide in my dorm whenever you want to.” Nicole offered. “Though Courtney isn’t all that better than your sister.”

“Thanks, that’s very sweet of you. And, honestly? Even fricking Boogeyman is better than Willa. Courtney probably seems like Mother Theresa compared to her.”

Vicki grinned. “I’m still good for beating her up. All you Earp girls have to do is say the word, and I’ll be right on it.”

“You honestly think you can take her down?” Wynonna questioned, certain that Shepherd could beat Willa even with her hands tied, but keen to tease the girl.

“ _What?_ You’re questioning me now, Earp?” Vicki knew the deputy was just kidding, so she faked indignation in her voice as she lifted an eyebrow. “You and I both know that I can knock her out and do my nails at the same time. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You can’t deny the facts, deputy. That’s what makes them facts.”

“And what would the facts be, Dr. Pretty Eyes?”

“That I have great moves and Willa doesn’t stand a chance with me.”

“You’re _unbelievably_ cocky.” Wynonna declared, letting a big dimpled smile pop up on her face. “But, yeah, your moves are pretty good, I guess.”

Waverly frowned, confused about that conversation. And Nicole… Well, Nicole just smiled quietly, as something told her that Vicki and Wynonna were only getting started.

 

/ / /

 

The next day, Vicki walked to the medicine building, eager for her first Obstetrics and Gynecology class that week, with a scarf around her neck. She managed to get to the classroom a few minutes earlier than the professor and the rest of the students – well, _most_ of the students. Tucker Gardner was sitting on a chair in one of the front rows, a nauseating smile on his face as he watched something on his phone. Shepherd walked right past him, trying to ignore his existence in order not to have her day ruined, but quickly turned around as his voice sounded loud and clear, head lifting up to face her.

“Someone had a rough night.”

“I’m having a good day, Gardner, don’t make it bad.” She sighed, rolling her eyes visibly. “And what the hell do you mean by that?”

“You’re wearing a scarf on July. It’s not that hard to connect the dots.”

“Well, maybe I just like scarfs.”

“Or you had a rough night.”

“Yeah, yeah, I had sex, Tucker.” She said impatiently. That man was capable of irritating her faster than anything else. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Yes. Thank you for the images that popped up in my head.”

“You’re _disgusting_.” Vicki gulped, exasperatedly waiting for class to start so she wouldn’t have to be alone in a room with Tucker Gardner anymore. “And, well, those images are probably all you’re going to have your whole life. Women _despis_ e you.”

“Your friend Waverly seems to like me a lot. Just the other day she smiled at me.”

“In your dreams. She loathes you. Just like everyone else.”

“She loves me. She’s just confused. I’ve noticed she’s been hanging out with that butchy swimmer.”

“Firstly, the only thing Waverly knows about you is that you’re a scumbag, and, secondly, it’s none of your business who she hangs out with.”

“I just want to make sure she’s not letting redhead get into her head and make her become a lesbian.”

“You’re kidding me, right? It’s the twenty-first century, Gardner. Wake the fuck up.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. Homos are repulsive, any time or era.”

“You’re just saying that because girls are more interested in _other_ girls than they’re interested in you.”

“That’s bullshit. Girls only _think_ they’re interest in other girls. It’s like they’re being brainwashed.”

“Say whatever you want to say, but the _woman_ who caused me to wear a scarf didn’t only _think_ she was yelling my name out loud last night.”

“You dykes are gross.”

“You jackasses are worst.”

 

/ / /

 

Waverly was so tired she could feel her head spinning around. All she could think about in the short five-minute walk from campus to her building was how much she just wanted to lie down on the couch and watch endless hours of Orange is the New Black. Maybe she could invite Nicole and curl up with her, too. Um, and stealing one of Vicki’s beloved buckets of ice cream really didn’t sound like a bad idea. She’d replace it before her roommate even noticed.

But of course the whole scenario she made up in her mind was too good to become true. Because, once she got to her apartment door, she couldn’t even unlock it.

Willa was standing right in front of it.

“Oh, my God, Waves!” She smiled overexcitedly, wrapping her arms around her little sister. “Where have you been?”

The youngest Earp frowned – her sister _definitely_ wanted something. She wouldn’t act like that unless that was the case or they had someone else around them.

“Uh… You know, class. Not everyone runs a big fashion company like you, sis.” Waverly grinned, characteristically sounding nice even when she didn’t want to.

“Well, everyone _should_. Wynonna’s working right now. Something about a ‘shithead with boundary issues’ who stole a very rich man’s car. So I thought that, since she’s not free, you and I could hang out, just like in the old days!”

Waverly nodded – typical Willa. Making her the second option and rubbing it on her face.

“Just like in the old days. Yay.” The Ancient History student tried, but she simply couldn’t remember when she’d hung out with Willa and it hadn’t been _awful_.

“Come on! It’ll be so much fun! I know just the right French bistro!”

 

/ / /

 

“This _croque au vin_ is deelish.” Willa said, taking a small bite of her _way too expensive_ food while sipping her _way too expensive_ wine. “So, tell me, how’s your life been since I left?”

_Couldn’t be better_ , is what Waverly wanted to say. Instead, she just went with:

“Busy. You know, between classes and essays and trying to have a social life.”

“I wouldn’t call hanging out with Wynonna, an awkward redhead giant and that obnoxious roommate of yours a social life. You’re like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, weird separately, even weirder together.”

Willa certainly wasn’t very subtle. Waverly wanted to say that, in fact, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were _awesome_ , but she chose not to show her opinion regarding the superheroes, because that would only make her sister have even more disdainful things to say about her.

“Vicki’s not obnoxious, you guys are just very different.” _She’s not hateful_ , she felt like saying. “And, come on, Nicole isn’t awkward. She’s also not a giant.”

“You’re just defending her because she’s your girlfriend. Honestly, Waves, I think you’re leaving your standards behind. I mean, I remember you dated that Chad Wilkinson in junior high, and then Matthew Pearson in high school right before I left for college. They were both handsome! I didn’t know who you were dating while I was gone, but then I got back home last year and saw that football player hottie you were with and, whoa, _muscles_. Plus, he’s a really good kisser. And now you’re all over a goofy redheaded _woman_.”

“Firstly, Chad and Matthew, just like Champ, were complete assholes. They didn’t care about anyone rather them themselves. And Champ wasn’t even _that_ good a kiss– Wait. Why are you saying he’s a good kisser?”

“Oh, sweet innocent Waverly, you didn’t really think he was loyal, did you? And he was _so_ into me, you should’ve known.”

“I _know_ he wasn’t loyal, it’s one of the reasons why I dumped him, but I thought you…” The green-eyed truly should have seen that coming. Of course Willa had to take everything that was hers. She didn’t even care about Champ anymore, but the fact that her sister had been with him _while_ they were dating was low. Even for the older Earp. “You hooked up with my boyfriend!”

“Your _ex_.”

“Was he _already_ my ex when you hooked up?”

A devilish smile popped up on Willa’s face.

“Well…”

Waverly felt sick. Her oldest sister _always_ figured out new ways to feel like she wasn’t good. She made the Ancient History student feel like she wasn’t enough even for someone as wretched as Champ Hardy.

“Who cares, though? It’s not like I’ll ever do the same with your new girl candy.”

“Nicole is _not_ my new girl candy.”

“But you want her to be. Back to my point, you’re lowering your standards.”

“I _do not_ like her.” Waverly really wasn’t sure if what she was saying was true. She wanted it to be – the redhead was already one of the most important people in her life, and falling in love with her would end up badly and complicatedly. “But if I _were_ , that wouldn’t mean I was lowering my standards. Nicole’s kind, smart, funny, thoughtful and she worries about me more than all the guys I’ve dated. She’s a catch.”

“All those years living in the same house and I would’ve never predicted you to be little _Gayverly_. Always thought it would have been Wynonna. Not that I was wrong…”

“I’m not gay.” The green-eyed said. “I like boys. But, yeah, I like girls, too. It’s not a big a deal.”

Waverly was impressed for managing to talk about her sexuality with Willa. She was never comfortable with saying anything personal at all to her oldest sister, but having the fashion designer call her _Gayverly_ made her want to speak. She was still guarded, but she was proud of herself for, well, coming out. The brunette thought of mentioning Donna, but she didn’t feel the need to.

“Daddy wouldn’t understand this.”

Just like that, Waverly instantly regretted saying anything at all to Willa. Their father – who always cared more about his two older daughters than the youngest – was _dead_. The green-eyed _knew_ Willa was not a good person, but saying that was low even for her.

“Don’t talk about daddy.” The brunette clenched her fists under the table. “He was a _good man_.”

“That’s not my point. You’re not normal, Waverly. _This_ _is_ _not_ normal.”

Waverly felt her face start getting hotter and hotter, and by then she could’ve sworn she already looked like a red pepper. “You don’t get to decide what’s normal and what’s not.”

“It’s not _me_ , sissy. It’s the world. Being… _This_ makes you not normal. Daddy would have been disappointed.”

“I already told you _not_ to talk about daddy.” Her voice came out hoarse, firm, and she was trying her best not to yell at Willa. Because she couldn’t. If she did, her sister would make her life a living hell in ways only she could manage to.

“Well, but taking a good look at it, I don’t think he’d care.” The older girl said, taking a last sip of her wine and leaving the empty glass on the table. A cruel, nearly scary smile took charge of her face as she looked right into her little sister’s eyes. “He never cared about you, anyway.”

“I–” Was everything the Ancient History student could say. She wouldn’t let the tears fall down – not in front of Willa –, even though it was _incredibly_ hard to hold them in. Her sister knew just how to make her feel worthless, she said things she _knew_ would hurt Waverly, and didn’t even think twice before doing so. And she said the truth. Ward never cared about her. He missed her school plays, didn’t notice her report cards, didn’t celebrate her birthday. “I have to go to the restroom.”

She didn’t even give Willa time to say anything else before getting up and walking fast, desperate steps to the ladies’ room. She was _not_ going to cry. She couldn’t let her sister have that one. _God_ , her sister. Getting out of that bathroom seemed like an impossible task at the moment.

So Waverly had an idea.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, fingers trembling for what had just happened, and unlocked it quickly. She needed to get out of there. That was her crappy childhood _all over again_ – except this time she had people to help her. People who weren’t Wynonna – who was always blinded by Willa’s power over her –, or Gus – who simply told the oldest Earp sister to “knock it off”, even though that didn’t help. She had Vicki. And she had Nicole.

Waverly knew Shepherd was in class, so she let her finger tap _Tol_ in her contact list – in Haught’s phone, her contact name was _Smol_ because of an inside joke they’d come up with the day before –, and rapidly started writing text messages.

**Smol:** heyyy

**Smol:** are u busy?

_Tol:_ I’m never busy when it comes to you.

**Smol:** seriously

**Smol:** i don’t wanna be an inconvenience

_Tol:_ You’re never an inconvenience, Waves. What’s up?

**Smol:** i’m with willa

**Smol:** she surprised me when i got home i couldn’t get out of this

_Tol:_ Oh :( This must suck for you.

_Tol:_ Do you want me to get you out of there? Because I’d be happy to.

**Smol:** you would do that for me?

_Tol:_ I’d do a lot of things to you.

_Tol:_ For* you. Autocorrect…

**Smol:** you’re the best! seriously, nicole, i owe you big time

_Tol:_ It’s okay. Where are you?

**Smol:** a french bistro near purgatory high. l’abeille, i think.

_Tol:_ I know just where it is. Be there in three.

**Smol:** you can make it that fast?

_Tol:_ Absolutely. And I’ll come up with a good story to make you leave on such a hurry.

**Smol:** ughhh you’re amazing

**Smol:** i really wanna hug you right now

_Tol:_ Hug me when I get there. Gotta go, have a damsel in distress to pick up… ;)

**Smol:** oh ;)

**Smol:** i wonder who that is

_Tol:_ Just this amazing girl who needs my help.

_Tol:_ But seriously, maybe I can make it in two minutes.

**Smol:** just please drive safe!

_Tol:_ Hold on. I’ll be there before you know it :)

Waverly stood still in the bathroom for about twenty seconds, already feeling calmer just from having a conversation with the redhead. Something weird took place in her chest — her heart sped up, and suddenly, for just one moment, Willa didn’t seem to matter. Because Nicole was coming. Nicole was coming to get her. That feeling wasn’t completely unknown, but she surely hadn’t felt like that in a while. In a long time, in fact. The last time she experienced anything even remotely similar to that… Was when she dated Donna. But, that time, it was scarier. Because she had just met Nicole and ruining the great connection they’d had from the start was definitely something she didn’t want to do. Plus, what terrified Waverly the most was that with the Law student… It felt even stronger.

She shook away the thoughts. Her wrist watch indicated that a minute had gone by since Haught had last texted her, so she took a long, deep breath before opening the restroom door and walking back to the table, sitting on the expensive wooden chair as if she wasn’t about to leave.

“I’m sorry I took long, there was a, um… Line in the bathroom.” The younger girl lied, without really caring if her sister would believe it — she probably wouldn’t, anyway.

“I’m sure there was.” Willa said ironically, tilting her head front. “You’ve barely even touched your _croque au vin_. It _is_ an expensive dish, don’t waste it.”

“I think I lost my appetite. And I’ll pay for my own food, don’t worry.”

“With what money?”

“I have savings, and Gus sends me some every month until I finish college. I can pay for it.”

“Impressive.” The older Earp said disdainfully. “You know, I was wonder if now that you’re— Wait. Is that your…”

“Oh, my God, Waverly, thank God you’re here!” Nicole’s voice sounded loud and clear, sort of desperate, through the green-eyed’s ears, who couldn’t be more grateful at the moment. “It’s… It’s urgent. Michael got in an accident nearby, they’re taking him to hospital right now. I don’t know what to do. My phone died and… I need to call his mother. I thought maybe I could use a phone here, I can’t even think straight. The paramedics said it’s bad.”

Waverly was impressed by the swimmer’s acting. They didn’t know anyone in common named Michael, but Nicole made it sound like a very dear friend was in danger, and the brunette couldn’t help but notice even her sister had gotten shocked.

“Michael? Our _Mike?_ Oh, God!” The Ancient History student got up, pulling her wallet out of her pocket and leaving enough dollar bills to pay her share on the table. “Willa, please pay the check. I have to… I have to get to the hospital.”

“Hold on, Waverly, you haven’t even—”

“Come on, there’s no time!” The chestnut haired woman spoke, abruptly taking her friend’s hand and intertwining her fingers. “I can’t… I can’t even process it. Let’s go!”

Waverly ignored whatever Willa was babbling and hurriedly followed Nicole out of the tiny bistro, running until they got to the parking lot and were outside of the redhead’s car.

Haught couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“See? Told you I could make it in three minutes.” She said, smiling widely. “Though my phone’s chronometer indicates I only took two minutes and seventeen seconds to get here. Parking was a little more complicated.”

Waverly leaned forward, brusquely wrapping her arms around the Law student’s torso as her lips left a tender, elongated kiss on the pale cheek. “You’re a lifesaver!”

Nicole’s arms held Waverly even tighter. “I’m glad you’re giving me the hug you promised, because I was definitely going to collect it.”

“I’ll hug you as many times as you want me to. Seriously, I owe you this! Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I’m happy to come pick you up.”

“I _do_ owe you. Anything you want, you can ask. God, you’re incredible. Thanks. Thank you so much.”

Nicole knew just what she wanted. Of course she knew Waverly didn’t owe her anything — that was just a favor, one she was pleased to oblige —, but she had been meaning to ask that since the day before. Maybe it’d feel weird — they had _just_ met —, but Earp was already so important to her, and one of her favorite people in Purgatory, alongside with Rosita.

“Actually… There’s _one_ thing.” She bit her lower lip, hoping it wouldn’t be too much to ask. “I’m _not_ asking because I think you owe me anything, because, seriously, you don’t. And it’s okay if you say no.”

“Anything you want.”

“So… You know I’ve been training pretty hard, right? My swimming. I’ve been in the pool, like, five hours a day, improving my techniques, trying to become more resistant…”

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

“I’ve been doing this because sectionals are right around the corner. We’re going to compete in a big gymnasium in New York, since they can’t fit all the athletes in local gyms, and it’ll be pretty huge. Each person in the team has the right to take one guest to stay there throughout the three days of meets, and, well, I was wondering if you’d like to be mine. My guest, I mean.”

Waverly couldn’t hold back a big, bright smile. That signature grin of hers that made her squint and Nicole’s heart melt.

“Of course I will! God, Nicole, thank you for inviting me! It’s nice to know that you want me to accompany you.”

“You company is always amazing. I’m the one who has to thank _you._ Seriously, I know you’ll be great motivation for me there.”

“Trust me, I’m going to be like a personal trainer for you. We’re going to have so much fun!”

“I know we will.” The swimmer grinned, finally unlocking the car doors and opening the passenger one for the green-eyed in an act of chivalry. “Come on, we better get going. Willa might come out of the restaurant any second.”

“You’re right.” The brunette entered the vehicle, already buckling up. “Thanks for the door, by the way. You’re so kind.”

“Nah, it’s okay.” Haught got in the car, too, hastily bucking the seatbelt. She started driving, eyes focused on the road as she tried to think of something to say. “Where to?”

“Is that offer to stay in your dorm for a while still up? I don’t want to go home, yet. Willa might show there. And I still want to spend time with you, of course, if that’s okay.”

“Absolutely! You can stay there for as long as you’d like. I want to spend time with you, too.”

“I’ll just stay for the rest of the afternoon. Thank you so much.”

“Waves, you _have_ to stop thanking me.” Nicole chuckled, clenching her hands around the wheel.

“It’s just… You’re so nice to me for no reason.”

“I think you’ve had to deal with too many shitheads in your life.” The Law student said softly, her voice coming out slightly hoarser than usual. “You’re an incredible person, I don’t need a reason to be nice to you. I like you. You’re my friend.”

“I like you, too. You’re awesome.” Earp chewed on the inside of her cheek. “It’s just… I don’t know. Besides Wynonna and Vicki, I’m not used to people being kind to me. And I had the _worst_ time with Willa before you saved me.”

Haught smiled minimally at Waverly’s choice of words. _Saved._ It made her feel important.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

The green-eyed _did_ want to talk about it. She felt like she could tell the redhead anything.

“First of all, she told me she hooked up with Champ.”

“Ew, gross. Whoops, I forgot about you two for a second. Well, he’s still an ass, so it’s gross, anyway.”

“She hooked up with Champ _last_ year. _While_ I was still with him. And she _knew_.”

The brown eyes went wide, as the taller woman opened her mouth in surprise. “Oh, God. What kind of person is she?”

“She’s just awful. I never _loved_ Champ, that I’ll admit, and I couldn’t care less about who he hooks up with. But, I mean, we were _together._ And she’s my sister. My damn _big_ sister. She’s supposed to protect me, not _backstab_ me.”

“I completely understand. That was low.”

“That’s not even the worst part. She kept, um, saying that you and I are a couple. I didn’t mind, but I decided to just… You know, come out to her. As bisexual. It felt right at the moment.”

“Oh, Waves, I’m proud of you. This might’ve been so hard. For the tone in your voice, though, I assume it went badly.”

“Worse than I could ever have imagined. She said daddy would be disappointed in me. That he wouldn’t understand. _Daddy._ The man died when I was six years old. That was just… Painful. Why would she say something like that?”

They reached campus — it was a very short drive. Nicole parked the car, but neither of the girls left it. They just stood there.

“You shouldn’t listen to anything she has to say. She’s mean, Waverly. She’s a bad person who makes your life a living hell just for fun.”

That time, Waverly couldn’t keep the tears from running down her cheeks. She faced her own thighs for long seconds, before looking back up at the ginger head.

“But what if she’s right?” Her voice cracked, making Haught’s heart ache. “What if I disappointed daddy again? All I wanted as a kid was to make my parents proud. Mom left. Dad… Didn’t pay attention. He didn’t care about me at all. It’s like nothing I did was ever good enough.”

“Wave—”

“And she told me that. I said… I said he wouldn’t mind my sexual orientation, because he was a good man. He wouldn’t care. And, well, he _wouldn’t_. Because he never loved me. Not like Willa, not like Wynonna.”

Nicole didn’t say anything. She knew Waverly needed to let it all out.

“Damn it!” The brunette punched the car’s dashboard roughly, sighing deeply as the tears started drilling down her cheeks more intensely. “I tried _so_ hard! My report cards were flawless! I played soccer, I sang, but no one _ever_ cared! September eighth! September _fucking_ eighth! That’s when my birthday is! Is it really _that_ hard to remember?” She looked up at the ceiling, raising her voice considerably as her face reddened more and more. “Why, daddy? _Why_ _me_?”

Earp had never said that out loud. Of course, all of those thoughts had caused her countless sleepless nights, but she’d never let the words come out of her mouth — especially not in front of anyone. All the angst, the feelings she’d pushed deep down hit her hard, and all at once.

The Ancient History student covered her face with both hands. She couldn’t control the hiccups and her arrhythmic breaths, and her voice alternated between high-pitched and husky. “All I wanted was for them to love me. For _her_ to love me. She’s always been my biggest role model, I tried to be _just_ like her. Why is she so mean? What have I _ever_ done to her?”

Nicole leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Waverly, in a way that left her lips near the brunette’s ear.

“Shh…” She muttered softly, gently rubbing circles on Earp’s back. “I’m right here. With you. I’ll never let you feel this way again, okay? You’re _so_ amazing, Waves, and you deserve to know it. I like you so much… You’re incredible. I’ve never met anyone as smart, funny, beautiful… And I mean it.”

That just made the green-eyed cry even harder.

“Then _why_ does she hate me so much?”

 

/ / /

Wynonna left the police station about half an hour later than usual and, instead of driving to Shorty’s or the homestead as usual, she went straight to Waverly’s apartment. But she wasn’t hoping to see her sister — Vicki was the one she looked for. She had to clarify things — even though clarity _sucked_ sometimes. The deputy wasn’t in the mood for that awkward conversation during which she _knew_ Shepherd would be overly nice and they’d both try to act as if  they’d never seen each other naked, but it would happen eventually and, as much as she’d never admit it, the blue-eyed woman liked spending time with the med student way too much to let a one-time thing ruin the friendship they had built.

She stood in front of the apartment door for minutes on end, just gathering some courage to knock on it. Suddenly, her own boots seemed like the most interesting thing in the world — she faced them for a long time, lifting her hand up to knock several times, but never _actually_ doing it.

“Girl, come on. You’ve got this. Why are you so nervous, anyway?” Wynonna said, trying to brace herself.

And she did. But, as she raised her fist, a cold hand grabbed her wrist gently, and the sound of tingling keys echoed through her ears.

“Gotcha!” Vicki said, letting go of the marshal’s wrist and unlocking the door. “You’re lucky I got home now, you know. Or else you’d just stand there looking silly since there’s no one around.”

She had _already_ stood there looking silly for too long, but Shepherd didn’t need to know.

“So you guys _lock_ the door, now? Wow. I’m truly surprised.”

“Well, you never know when a burglar might decide to show up.” The med student walked into the apartment, dropping off her bag on the couch and sitting next to it. “Or your deranged older sister. Either way, Waverly and I decided it’s best not to take risks.”

“You’re right. Note to self: lock the homestead doors and windows.”

“Windows too?”

“Who knows? Willa can get creative.”

Vicki giggled. “So, what brings you to my humble household? Waverly’s not home yet, apparently, though she should be. You know what? I think I saw her in Haught Stuff’s car on my way here, but I might’ve been mistaken.”

“No, um, I actually came here to talk to _you_.”

“I really enjoyed talking to you and everything else yesterday, but right now I just really want to lie down and watch Netflix.” The younger girl stood back up, a big grin popping up on her face. “I’m kidding. What do you want to talk about? Rough day at work?” She walked to the fridge, picking up a bottle of beer. “You want anything?”

“A beer would be nice, please.” Wynonna sat on the couch. “And, um, I don’t want to talk _like_ we did yesterday. I want to talk _about_ what we did yesterday.”

Shepherd sighed, walking towards Earp and handing her the bottle. She sat next to her, already aware of what was about to come. “You’re not going to get all weird with me just because we fucked, are you?”

“Whoa. Straight forward.”

“I only want to know.”

“Well, I don’t intend to. But when friends… Sleep together, things tend to get weird naturally.”

“Only if you let them.”

Wynonna kept quiet for a second.

“Anyway… It always gets weird with me. Maybe I’m not mature enough to handle it, I don’t know. But that’s not… Something that friends are supposed to do. I was angry, and lonely, and you were there. It gets confusing and feelings get in the way…”

“Who said I have feelings for you?” Vicki got defensive, because she _knew_ she had feelings for Wynonna. The day before hadn’t been just about sex, and that terrified her.

“No one said it. All I said is feelings get _in the way._ ” The deputy claimed, frowning bewilderedly as she noticed how that sentence had affected the med student. “But do you?”

_Yes._

“No!” Vicki raised her voice, trying not to look like she was lying. “Do _you_?”

“No!” Wynonna yelled in the same tone as her. “I just wanted to make sure we never do that again.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They stood in silence for long seconds, without even looking at each other. There were _so many_ things Shepherd wanted to say, but she didn’t feel like she had the right to say anything. What they’d done just one day before had given her hope. She thought that maybe Wynonna and her would become something else.

She was heartbroken.

“If that’s all you had to say, then you should probably go.”

“What?”

“I had a long day. Just need some rest.”

The blue-eyed girl chewed on the inside of her cheek, nodding smoothly as she got up from the sofa. “M’kay, then. I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah.”

Wynonna left her unopened bottle of beer on the coffee table — something simply told her Vicki could use it —, and the younger girl couldn’t help but notice that the label had been nearly completely peeled off. Earp opened the door, looking back at Shepherd for a moment before leaving the apartment.

As soon as the sound of the door being slammed echoed through Vicki’s ears, she knew she was alone. She felt lonely for the first time in a while.

Well, but that shouldn’t be a problem. She was used to it.


	5. The word asshat describes you best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Champ runs into Wayhaught in Nicole's dorm. Vicki tries to move on. Unexpected things happen to Willa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it took me *forever* to post this, but last month's been absolutely WILD, so i didn't have much time to write :( i'm sorry.  
> but i'm here now! i hope you guys like this chapter.  
> please don't forget to leave comments and kudos, they mean a lot to me and it's nice to hear what you have to say about this story.  
> my twitter is @haughtdamnit and i'll follow everyone back/talk to anyone who feels like having a chat.:)  
> i just posted a new story, it's called spider-wave and you can find it in my works! please check it out :))
> 
> enjoy!

Waverly didn’t remember falling asleep. The last thing she recalled was leaving Nicole’s car and getting to the taller girl’s dorm – in which her roommate thankfully wasn’t –, and lying in bed in order to try and calm down. She also remembered the feeling of the redhead’s arms around her, and how soothing they were.

But waking up to Champ Hardy’s loud voice was _definitely_ something she didn’t expect.

“So what, are you, like, _girlfriends_ now?” The sight of her ex-boyfriend walking heavy steps in Nicole’s dorm was the first thing she saw. “That’s wrong. That’s _so_ wrong!”

“Can you just be quiet? Waverly’s asleep!” Haught whispered roughly.

Earp blinked a couple of times, trying to come up with a reason for the odd duo’s arguing in the room. Neither of them had noticed she’d already woken up – maybe because she hadn’t even moved –, so she decided to stay quiet for a few more moments to try and figure out what Nicole and Champ were talking about.

“You think you can just swoop in and steal my girl, like that?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and Waverly had to tame herself not to laugh out loud.

“First of all, Waverly doesn’t _belong_ to anyone, and, secondly, we’re not–”

“Uh… What’s going on?” The green-eyed interrupted the swimmer, looking straight at her. She’d come up with a plan – and hopefully Nicole would go along with it.

“See, moron? You woke her up!” The redhead complained to the football player, not able to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She turned around to face the Ancient History student – who she thought had the most adorable sleepy face in the world – slightly worried that Champ Hardy being the first thing she saw after waking up would make her uncomfortable, especially given the recent discoveries she’d made. “Are you feeling any better, Waves?”

“Um, yeah, I guess…” The brunette gulped, ready to start executing her plan. “Babe?”

Nicole frowned immediately, completely confused by the totally unexpected nickname Waverly directed towards Champ.

“See? You lesbians never get the girl, because they like _us_ , men, better.” Waverly’s ex-boyfriend smiled towards the woman in the redhead’s bed. “What’s up, baby?”

“Uh, Champ… I was talking to Nicole. My _girlfriend_.”

Haught nearly choked on her own saliva. Her eyes went wider than ever as they faced the green ones, not really sure of what was going on at the moment. Earp simply nodded smoothly, as a sign for the Law student to play along – which was exactly what she did.

“Yeah. The smart girl always picks the one with an actual _brain_.” She couldn’t help saying that, and then walked towards the bed and sat on it, taking one of Waverly’s hands in hers. “Do you need anything?”

“No, just… For him to leave.”

“You heard her.”

“No. I still have to wait for Courtney, so I’m _not_ leaving.”

Nicole got up from the bed, taking a long step in Champ’s direction.

“Leave or I will _make_ you.”

“You think I’m scared of you?” He chuckled quietly at the sight of the redhead’s attempt to frighten him. “You’re just a girl.”

“Oh, I _know_ you’re scared of me.” She took another step forward, clenching her hands into fists as she watched Hardy’s expression change and his entire body flinch. “Now go.”

The football player turned around, quickly making his way to the door, and murmuring a low “I’m only leaving because I want to” before walking out of the room.

“And don’t you _dare_ bother my girlfriend ever again!” Haught shouted, only to emphasize everything she’d just said and done, and closed the door as Champ walked hastily through the hallway. “So, I’m your _girlfriend_ now?” She raised an eyebrow at Waverly, sitting next to the girl in bed.

“I’m sorry, it’s just– I think that’ll keep him from leaving late night voicemails and asking me to get back together.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m happy to be your girlfriend. I mean, your _fake_ girlfriend.” Nicole corrected herself, chuckling nervously as she tried not to show that, well, being Waverly’s girlfriend wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for her. Not even close to that. “If it’ll make him stop troubling you, I’ll do it as many times as you want me to.”

“Thank you. You’re truly the best, Tol.”

“ _You_ are, Smol.”

 

/ / /

 

Vicki tapped her foot incessantly against the floor at a café a few miles away from campus. It was still the middle of the week, but she was already enough of it. She couldn’t be near Purgatory University any minute longer that day — whenever Tucker Gardner walked past her, she had to keep herself from punching him in the face, and being in the apartment simply made her remember all the stuff that had gone by with Wynonna.

So she decided a break from PU for just one afternoon wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

“Vicki!” The barista yelled, as a sign that her order was ready.

Shepherd got up from the comfortable couch she sat on, taking a few steps towards the wooden balcony and picking up her cinnamon rolls and large coffee, and soon making her way back to the sofa. Sipping the hot drink carefully enough not to burn her tongue, she opened the book she’ brought with her to the café. Reading in coffee shops wasn’t something she normally did — honestly, it just felt a lot like a bad chick flick —, but that seemed to help Waverly out when she was conflicted, so borrowing one of the green-eyed girl’s Bukowski pieces and reading it at the coffee  seemed like the right thing to do.

“Reading a book in a coffee shop?” A familiar voice echoed through her ears, making her look up immediately. “Seems like a total cliché to me.”

Vicki grinned genuinely. She didn’t expect to see Rosita Bustillos there, in the middle of the week. It was definitely a nice surprise.

“I’m a know-it-all med student with bags under my eyes. I _am_ a cliché.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. When it comes to you, what you see is _not_ what you get.” Rosita sat next to Shepherd, taking a quick look at the book she had in hand. “What have you got there?”

“Something by Bukowski.”

“Oh, so you’re a fan of his work?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, since I just borrowed this book from Waverly, but, yeah, it’s surprised me so far. I thought it was overrated before actually giving it a shot. The guy has a lot of things to say that are worth reading. For example, he says it _is_ possible to love someone without knowing them. I don’t know Dua Lipa, but, damn it, I love her.”

The brunette chuckled. “I don’t think that’s what he meant.”

“Well, it’s poetry. That’s my interpretation.” Vicki laughed briefly, picking up one cinnamon roll and bringing it closer to her lips. “Cinnamon roll?”

“Nah, thanks. I don’t really like cinnamon.”

“That’s odd.”

 Rosita raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“A cinnamon roll who doesn’t like cinnamon? New to me.”

Shepherd didn’t even care at that point. As much as she hated to admit, Wynonna had hurt her deep — she should have never gotten her hopes up in the first place, but it seemed inevitable —, and maybe Rosita’s being in the café at the same time as her was the universe patting her on the back after kicking her to the ground. So Vicki just decided to go with it.

“You did _not_ just call me a cinnamon roll.” The Latina giggled, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ve had to hear a lot of shitty pick-up lines throughout my life, but this one’s definitely in the top five.”

“It was quite fast, though. And cute. Who doesn’t like being called a cinnamon roll?” Shepherd took a sip of her coffee, chewing on the inside of her cheek as Rosita nodded smoothly.

“Well, it _was_ sweet.”

“Just like you.”

The Biochemistry student couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh, closing her eyes as her head was thrown back. “Why are you like this?”

“I’m tired and lonely. And I’m _pissed off_. And then you come here looking like that.” Vicki admitted. She didn’t have anything to lose, anyway. “Also, you are _so_ nice. We get along and, for what I recall from this weekend, our bodies do, too.”

“So _that’s_ where this is going.”

“I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward. Just… I’ll shut up if that’s what you want.”

“Don’t worry, I agree. It _is_ good to have something like this, after all. Strictly physical, no feelings or commitment, and we get to stay friends.”

“Exactly!”

“But…” Rosita squinted, biting her lower lip. “I don’t want to get in the way of you and Wynonna. I mean, the other day at the bar… It seems like you two have something going on. I’m not messing with true love.”

“Screw Wynonna. There’s absolutely nothing happening between us.” Vicki gulped, her voice coming out deeper than she intended.

Bustillos widened her eyes slightly, a subtle . “Wow. You sound bitter. Are you sure _nothing’s_ going on?”

“Fuck off, Rosi. I _really_ don’t want to talk about Wynonna right now.”

“What do you want to talk about, then?” She smiled subtly.

“I don’t think I want to talk at all.”

“Well,” Rosita raised an eyebrow, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Then let’s _not_ talk in my dorm. How does that sound?”

“Lead the way.”

 

/ / /

 

“Wake up, Wy-Wy! We have a killer to catch!”

Wynonna flinched at her work buddy’s overly excited voice, even angrier than usual. Her life was a complete mess that week: all the ups and downs with Vicki drove her crazy, Willa’s visit was one more thing to worry about, and her job was exceptionally stressful. She’d been working like a dog to get a promotion, but wasn’t even sure if it was a possibility.

“Jeremy, what did I tell you about that damn nickname?”

The scientist flinched at her rough tone. “It’s annoying and you’re going to bang my head against the wall until it opens up a hole in my skull big enough for you to put your fist inside it and slowly crush my brain if I ever say it again.”

“Exactly.” She said. “And I meant every word.”

He sighed, removing his lab coat and sitting on the desk in front of her.

“This guy we’re after is probably the worst serial killer Purgatory’s ever seen. You have _got_ to get your head back in the game.”

“I know, I know. And I will. This week’s just been exhausting.”

“Ask Dolls to give you a day off. Maybe you should sleep it out.”

“I don’t _need_ a day off.”

“You’re not made out of steel, Wynonna.”

“But I have to be.” She stood up from the chair, walking over to the samples Jeremy had examined earlier and taking a look at them. “What do we have?”

“All the victims were killed between nine PM and two AM in the past month and a half, and I was able to localize nail marks on some of the bodies, so I sent a few other samples up to the lab. We have some witnesses who claim to have seen a black SUV near the crime scenes and a tall, white, bald man walking out of it. I feel like we’re close to getting him.”

“So this shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Well, identifying will be easy if we can get medical records or even files here in the station, but tracking him is the hard part. And taming him, too. For what we see, the guy doesn’t go down without a fight.”

“Luckily, neither does Wynonna.” Willa’s suave voice echoed through the room, and both of the Black Badge members — that was the name of their task force — lifted their heads up to see the oldest Earp sister leaning against the door stop. “Well, not usually.”

“What are you doing here?” The blue-eyed asked. She really hated running into her sister unexpectedly like that.

“I’m _bored,_ and not in the mood to tolerate Waverly’s self-pity acts, so I thought I could come watch you work.” Willa walked into the room, ignoring that it was filled with confidential information no one but Black Badge members should see. She flashed Jeremy a sympathetic smile, tilting her head slightly. “And you are…?”

He blinked rapidly, realizing she had referred to him.

“Gay.” Chetri grinned back, quickly widening his eyes as he recognized that had been completely uncalled for. “I, uh… I meant Jeremy. Yeah. I’m Jeremy, not gay. I mean, I _am_ gay, though I don’t really know why I’m talking about it with you, a girl whose name I don’t even know yet. Maybe it’s because I don’t—”

“Jeremy, just… Shut up.” Wynonna tapped her own forehead lightly. “Willa, I’m afraid you can’t really be here. This is classified.”

“Then it’s a good thing I can keep a secret, sis.”

“Wait… There’s _another_ Earp sister? And her name _also_ starts with a W?” Jeremy got himself into the conversation again, an enthusiastic grin on his face. “I get the feeling your parents weren’t very creative. But maybe it’s a family thing, I mean, there’s the legendary Wyatt, and I think Waverly mentioned once that your father’s name was Ward. The Earps seem to like the letter W. And there’s Edwin Earp, whose name doesn’t start with a W but there _is_ one in the middle, though I’m not sure it counts as a—”

“Jeremy!” Wynonna yelled impatiently, immediately feeling guilty as the scientist put his head down.

“Shut up. I know.”

“You shouldn’t be so rude to him, Wy.” Willa looked at Jeremy. “I’m sorry, daddy taught us to be polite but she never really got it. Don’t mind her.”

“Willa, can you please just—”

“Whoa! I hadn’t noticed those bags under your eyes yet, sissy. Vicki kept you up all night?”

“Why would Vicki keep Wynonna up al—” Chetri started talking, but the blue-eyed marshal didn’t give him a chance to finish.

“ _Don’t_ talk about her.”

“Why?” The oldest Earp sister walked around the room, the signature devilish smile drawn on her face. “Oh… I see. Trouble in paradise?”

“I’m just trying to work, Willa, can you please—”

“Maybe she finally realized that you’re really not all that and sleeping with you was a mistake. I mean, I also think you can do better, but you _are_ a people-repellent. And a trouble magnet.”

“WYNONNA SLEPT WITH VICKI?” Jeremy yelled, putting his head down as soon as Wynonna flashed him one of her typical ‘I’ll kill you if you say anything’ looks.

 “Okay, you really should leave–” The blue-eyed tried to keep herself from losing her mind and screaming at Willa, but it seemed almost impossible.

“I’m just telling the truth. Loving you is too damn complicated. Maybe that’s why momma couldn’t be with us anymore.”

Wynonna gulped. She wasn’t even surprised at what her sister had said – she’d heard it all before –, but it certainly was a hard thing to listen to. She couldn’t speak up, though. She couldn’t say everything in her mind, because the fashion designer still terrified her. Willa did things not even the big, tatted-up, merciless criminals the marshal chased down every day at work could do. She was a player – carefully choosing her words in a way that she knew would hurt pretty much anyone she wanted, only for the pleasure she took in watching them break. Wynonna never quite understood that. All she’d ever done was try not to be the reason why someone got torn apart, without much success, and Willa did the exact opposite. She had the power of fixing people, everyone felt oddly drawn to her, but she didn’t even care. And Wynonna… Damn it. Wynonna even gave up on the slightest chance of happiness she had with Vicki, knowing that she’d eventually hurt the med student. She always broke everything she touched.

“Don’t you _dare_ say Wynonna’s the reason momma left.” A husky, sorrowful voice echoed through the room, and all the three people turned around to face a _very_ angry Waverly Earp at the doorstop, her fuming expression contrasting with the Dunkin’ Donuts bag in her hand. “Momma left because she’s not a good mother. She abandoned us and daddy without looking back. I will _not_ let you pin this on the best of us.”

“Waves, what are you–” The deputy started talking, but got interrupted by her little sister once again.

“Wynonna, don’t. It’s time someone tells her what we’ve all been thinking since… Forever.”

Willa let out a sarcastic laugh, brushing a lock of hair back with her fingers. “Oh, God. She can _think_!”

Jeremy stood up.

“Okay, um, I think I should leave, then…”

“You” Wynonna pushed him back into the chair “stay exactly where you are. Don’t make things worse.”

The oldest Earp in the room took a few steps, that barefaced smile still on her face. “Go ahead, Wave. Just say what you want to say.” She crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow at the youngest sister. “Or are you going to chicken out as you did in the restaurant?”

“I’m _done_ with your crap.” Waverly said brazenly, in a way even herself couldn’t believe she was capable of. “I don’t know what inner issues you’ve got; I don’t know if it’s a self-esteem thing, if you’re trying to fulfill a dreary, _empty_ part of your life or if you’re just a plain asshole, but all this shit-talking has to stop. You hurt people, and you like it. This is unacceptable.”

The Ancient History student had to hold herself together not to run through the hallways while she screamed out loud to release that feeling of adrenaline that took over her body. She couldn’t help but notice Wynonna’s widened eyes and an impressed grin on her face, along with Jeremy’s completely dumbfounded expression. After the day at the French bistro, when she told Nicole everything that went wrong in her childhood, seeing Willa wasn’t something she wanted to do anytime soon – she’d only stopped at the station because Wynonna had been noticeably tired and stressed for the past weeks, and donuts could really cheer her up. All the anger that had been built up in her couldn’t be held inside any longer, especially when she heard Willa saying something _that_ cruel to the blue-eyed woman. Haught’s words earlier in her dorm were also a factor for Waverly to do something she’d been meaning to since she was a child.

_“How are you feeling? You know, about the Willa thing.”_ The redhead had said, gently stroking the brunette’s hair.

_“I’m still sad, but I guess that pissed off are the words that can describe me best right now.”_

_“I know it’s hard, and I’m not saying you_ have _to do anything, but… Standing up to her could make you feel better.”_

_“I can’t. I’ve tried multiple times, but the words never seem to make it out of my mouth.”_

_“Try again. And again. And one more time after that. Keep trying until you succeed, because, if it were me, I wouldn’t know if I could do it either.”_

_“God, I wish I was brave enough.”_

_“You are, Waverly. You just don’t know it, yet.”_

_“I’m not so sure…”_

_“It’s completely understandable that you get nervous and quiet when you actually want to say so much more. She made your childhood a living hell. She made you_ cry _yesterday. You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. But, just so you know, I believe that you can do this.”_

_“Do you?”_

_“One hundred percent.”_

And, well, Waverly did it.

“Do you have _any_ idea of who you’re talking to?” Willa’s demeanor started to change, a slightly heated appearance popping up on her face while the smile disappeared.

“Do _you_?” The green-eyed girl raised her voice an octave. “I’ve had to listen to your bullshit all my life, so now you better be quiet and hear what I have to say.”

“You’re making a huge mistake, sissy. You _really_ don’t want to mess with me.”

“I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

Willa took another step towards Waverly.

“I can ruin your life with a single sentence.”

“Not if I don’t let you. And I won’t. Not anymore, you…” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as her head was raised even higher. “You _bitch_.”

The fashion designer’s cheeks went crimson in pure rage. She couldn’t believe Waverly had the _nerve_ to talk to her like that. She’d make the shorter woman regret it – and she knew exactly how to. It would only take a few weeks.

“Wynonna, are you going to let her talk to me like that?”

The middle Earp sister sighed. _Screw this_ , she thought.

“She’s not wrong. You _are_ a bitch, Willa. Though I really think that the word asshat describes you best.”

“I can’t believe this!” Willa chuckled ironically, fixing her purse’s stripe around her shoulder. “I’m leaving!”

“Well,” Wynonna added “on your way, take a turn to New York. That’s where you’re supposed to be, as far away from here as possible.”

“I was sick of Purgatory, anyway. And of your faces.” She turned around, making her way to the door, but stopped for a second. “And, Waverly, be sure to check your email throughout the next few weeks.”

The green-eyed girl didn’t even ask what that was about. All she did was smile and wave her fingers, saying:

“Goodbye, Willa.”

And, just like that, Willa walked away.

 

/ / /

 

“Waverly called her a _bitch_! And a _plain asshole_!” Wynonna said for the millionth time, taking the bottle of beer already half empty to her lips. “I mean… Way to go, baby girl. I’m impressed!”

After what happened, both sisters had made their way to Waverly’s apartment, and invited Jeremy to come along. That was worthy of celebration. The Ancient History had invited Nicole, too, and left about fifteen texts to Vicki because, apparently, she thought it was okay to disappear like that and not even give a heads up.

“See? I knew you could do it!” Haught grinned at the youngest Earp, clearly proud. “I’m happy for you.”

“Well… Wynonna was pretty awesome, too. I feel sorry for Jeremy, though, for having to sit down and watch the whole thing.”

“Are you kidding me?” Chetri laughed lightly. “It was quite a show. I would have bought tickets to that.”

“I just wish Vicki was here. I’ve texted her, like, a million times, and still nothing. I’m worried, she always lets me know when she doesn’t get back to the apartment at night like this, because you know how dangerous campus can be with creeps like Tucker Gardner walking around. Plus, she’s going to love to know all the things we said to Willa.”

Wynonna smiled minimally, letting out a nasal chuckle. “She’ll say we should have waited to do it with her around, so she could punch her.”

“No one knows where she is?” Nicole asked. “Wynonna?”

“No. Why would I know?” The deputy answered a little too fast, incriminating herself on her own.

“Well… I don’t know.” The redhead lied. “But it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

“I guess you’re right. But, no. I don’t know where she is. And it’s getting late.”

Waverly took a long gulp of her beer, shrugging softly as her eyes found Nicole. “Have you tried texting Rosita?”

“What?”

“I mean, they _did_ have that little fling.”

“It wasn’t a _fling_ , it was only a one-night stand.” The swimmer clarified. “I don’t think she’d be with Rosita.”

Not two seconds after that, Rosita Bustillos’ back was slammed against the door as it was opened by Vicki’s hand, which soon went to the Latina’s waist.

Without even realizing the presence of four other people in the room, Vicki leaned forward, lips touching Rosita’s in some sort of desperate way while her hands moved all over the Biochemistry student’s sides. Once her fingers started playing with Bustillos’ pants’ waistline, Waverly _had_ to interrupt them, feeling somewhat bad for Shepherd, who she knew was going to get embarrassed for that — especially because Wynonna was in the room, and, well, the green-eyed had always known about her friend’s crush on her older sister.

But someone had to stop the steaminess that was going on between the two.

“Um, hi, girls.” Waverly said, louder than usual so they would hear her clearly. “I hate to interrupt, but, uh… Well, there are a _lot_ of people in the living room right now and I’m sure you don’t want to do anything in front of us.”

Vicki took a step back so fast that Waverly could’ve sworn she hadn’t seen her friend move so desperately since the time she spilled coffee on Wynonna’s couch and had to get it clean before the blue-eyed got back to the homestead.

“Waverly, you were supposed to be at Nicole’s dorm!”

“Mm… Was I?”

“Yeah!” Shepherd fixed her t-shirt quickly, rubbing her hand against her own lips to make sure they weren’t covered in Rosita’s lipstick. “You know, because of the whole ‘Willa might show up any given moment’ situation!”

“About that…” The green-eyed girl grinned brightly, simply unable to hold it back. “I kind of snapped at her. Wynonna helped.” She pointed her head towards her sister, who just smiled closed-mouthed attempting to be polite. “She’s probably on her way back to Assholesville right now.”

_God, Wynonna_. Her presence hadn’t hit Vicki yet.

The med student gulped.

“Um… That’s great. I’m so proud.” Shepherd knew she’d sound like an idiot, but couldn’t restrain herself from looking over at the blue-eyed. “Of you too, Wynonna.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

They kept quiet for a while, everyone but Waverly aware of the reason why tension had installed itself into the room. Rosita felt so uncomfortable, but the silence was so deadly she wouldn’t dare to move and make everything even weirder.

“Aw-kwaaard.” Jeremy said in a singing tone, making all heads turn to his direction.

“Jeremy, just–” Wynonna started, but Chetri interrupted her.

“Shut up, I know.”

“Exactly.”

“Umm…” Rosita said, taking a few steps towards the door. “I should get going. Nice seeing you guys. And, Haught, the coach asked me to tell you that practice starts thirty minutes earlier tomorrow. Bye.”

“Nah, Rosita, that’s nonsense. Stay, have a beer.” Waverly smiled, pointing at the couch. “There’s always room for more.”

“I really think it’s better if I go. But thanks.”

“Rosi, come on–” Vicki started saying.

“You heard the girl, Shepherd.” Wynonna interjected with a raspy, throaty voice. “Leave her alone.”

“It’s not like I’m forcing her to do anything, _Earp_. I’m just saying she doesn’t _have_ to go. I mean, I’m _trying_ to say it, but you won’t let me.” The med student didn’t spare her rough tone, still bitter for not being over the things Wynonna told her the night before. And she hated that she was being so… Rancorous. She knew how much of a jerk that made her look like, but the words just left her mouth without her even thinking. “And you don’t get to tell me what to do.”

Somewhere between Vicki’s statements, Rosita left the apartment, going by almost unnoticed because of the strain that had hit everyone in the living room.

“And you don’t get to do whatever you want. Or _whoever_ you want.”

“I don’t see a ring on my finger.” Shepherd walked to the fridge, picking up a bottle of beer in order to try and finish the subject, and casually moving to sit on the couch. “So, Waves, tell me all about the Willa roast. I want details!”

Waverly started telling the whole story, even exaggerating on certain facts, and everybody – including the three people who’d heard (and seen) it before – laughed and screamed and joked about it, while Vicki and Wynonna were careful enough not to react to anything each other said, making them feel just like the other wasn’t even there.

Eventually, the hours went by and they all fell asleep in the living room – even Jeremy – and, somewhere along the night, Waverly ended up with her body wrapped in Nicole’s arm, head resting on her chest as she felt the slow, soothing strokes the redhead unconsciously performed on her waist. That night, she didn’t even miss the four blankets – plus a bonus one just in case – that it took for her to sleep.

Nicole’s body was all the warmth she needed.


	6. Vanilla dipped donuts with lots of sprinkles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly helps Nicole train for sectionals. Nicole talks to Vicki. Wynonna is just a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man, it feels good to be back.
> 
> i’m sorry i haven’t updated in so long! seriously, i’ve been doing the best i can yet this chapter is incredibly short. i just feel it’s necessary for the development of the story so please be understanding:)
> 
> school’s been a bitch and i’ve had a million essays to hand in, besides tests, but now i’m finally getting a break and i promise next chapter will be better and i’ll probably update during the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
> 
> thank you for the lovely comments, hope to get some more of those. don’t forget to leave kudos, too! pretty please :)
> 
> enjoy this chapter!

Nearly a month had gone by since the day Willa left Purgatory, but her words hadn’t gotten out of Waverly’s mind yet. “Be sure to check out your email throughout the next few weeks”, she’d said. That choice of words puzzled the youngest Earp for a series of reasons, and she couldn’t imagine why her sister would say that, but it surely looked like she was about to do something more evil than she’d ever done before. Willa’s tone gave that up. The bitter rage in her voice still made Waverly tremble whenever she remembered the events in the police station.

Wynonna had changed in the past weeks, too. The older Earp wasn’t around anymore, she rarely made visits to the apartment and, when she did, it was just to chat superficially with her sister and leave before Vicki could show up. She even avoided Vicki when the med student was there, and Waverly suspected it was all about the feelings she hid and how hard it was probably getting to keep them inside when Rosita was around all the time.

And then there was Nicole.

Haught had been so amazing to her throughout the past month. They texted each other pretty much all the time — except when they were together —, and bringing the redhead breakfast when she was in the swimming practice had quickly become a habit. Waverly knew she was falling in love with Nicole, and she was entirely sure that it was going to destroy her. The Law student had it all: the looks, the brains, the money, the popularity. She could have any girl she wanted. Why would she choose Waverly?

Sectionals were a week away, and the only person more excited than the Ancient History student was Nicole. She’d trained so hard for the meets and, even though stress was definitely a factor, excitement always took over her mind whenever she thought about the adrenaline rush that hit her once she jumped in the pool, hearing as the crowd screamed her name loudly and passionately.

And, this time, Waverly would be cheering, too.

“Aaand...” The youngest Earp’s voice echoed through the pool area as she pressed a button in the chronometer around her neck. “Four point fifty-nine seconds faster than last time!”

“No way!” Nicole yelled, getting out of the pool quickly and grabbing her PU towel on the bleachers. “God, this is amazing!”

“I know! You’re so going to bring Purgatory University a gold medal, Nicole.”

“I hope you’re right.” The redhead wrapped the towel around her body, taking a seat next to the paper bag Waverly had picked up before they went to the gymnasium. “What did you get today?”

“Vanilla dipped donuts with lots of sprinkles.” Earp sat next to her.

“Yum!” Nicole groaned enthusiastically, she hadn’t eaten those in a while and had definitely missed them.

“But those are for me, Haught. You have sectionals in a week, we can’t risk stomachaches due to over ingestion of sugary marvels. Here, I brought you chicken salad. Besides being extra tasty, it’s got lots of proteins and suppresses homocysteine levels, therefore preventing cardiovascular diseases.” The Ancient History student handed her friend a small box and a plastic fork. “I added sesame seeds, by the way. They improve blood pressure and balance hormones.”

“Thanks, Waves, even though I’m not sure my homo levels can be suppressed.” Nicole chuckled softly at the things Waverly said, quite impressed at the girl’s knowledge, and the green-eyed tapped her smoothly on the shoulder for the pun she made. “I think you’ve been spending a lot of time around Vicki.”

“Hey, I’ve just been doing my research. You’ve worked so hard for this and I don’t want stupid health problems to get in the way. Prevention is good.” The brunette took a bite of her donut, sighing once she heard her best friend’s name. “Has anyone at all spent a lot of time around Vicki for the past month? Seriously, she barely comes to the apartment anymore, and there seems to be a sort of fight between her and Wynonna.”

Nicole gulped, knowing exactly why Vicki and Wynonna had gotten so weird all of a sudden. But it wasn’t her secret to tell.

“Rosi has been spending a lot of time around Vicki.”

“You’re right.” Waverly sighed heavily, naturally letting her hand rest on Nicole’s thigh. “Ugh, Vicki’s been acting so weird lately. All she does is study, go to Rosita’s dorm room and work out like crazy. Her diet’s been basically made of ice cream and kale salad. And I’m guessing a lot of whiskey.”

“Well...” The redhead didn’t really know what to say. “She’s probably going through some heavy stuff. Med school stress, maybe. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.”

“I hope so.”

“Don’t worry, Waves. I’ve been there with Rosi. It’ll be a while, but she’ll tell you everything.”

“Yeah...” Earp took a deep breath, slightly sad for knowing that all the things Nicole said were true. It would take some time, and there was nothing she could do about it. “I just hope it all settles before Willa comes up with whatever she’s going to do to me. I feel like I’ll need all the support I need.”

“Hey, maybe she won’t even do anything.”

“You really don’t know her, do you?”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I do know you. You confronted her once, and I know you can do it again if you have to. Plus, I got you. I’ll be here the whole time, if you want me to.”

Waverly smiled. The Law student had been in her life for just a month and she was already one of the most important people in the world for the brunette. There was some sort of deep connection between them, and it had been established since the moment Nicole walked out of the lake on that typical cold Purgatory night.

“You’re amazing, Nicole Haught.”

“So are you, Waverly Earp.”

 

-x-

 

Vicki never saw herself as the lover type. She’d always thought one night stands and strictly physical relationships were like her. No feelings involved, just human beings trying to fulfill their natural desires. She didn’t need a thousand red roses, or a box of chocolates to make the love of her life happy. She didn’t need a serenade. God, she hated the thought of having a romantic picnic by a stupid blue lagoon.

That until she saw the blue lagoon in Wynonna’s eyes.

Rosita’s arms were warm, her kiss was sweet and her screams when Vicki touched her where she needed were quite flattering. But she wasn’t Wynonna.

And Vicki hated that she felt so powerless.

She was going through the notes she took in Family Medicine class when the sound of two gentle knocks on the door echoed through the apartment.

“Waverly, did you forget your keys again?” She said loudly, standing up to answer the door with a slight grin on her face. “I’m telling you, you have got to stop going out with no keys, because what  if I...” Once Shepherd saw the person standing in the hallway, she stopped talking. It wasn’t her best friend. “Um... Nicole? Waverly’s not around, she actually went out to... Meet you.”

“Oh, I know. I’m here to talk to you.” The redhead smiled softly. “Can I come in?”

“Sure...” Vicki muttered, unsure of what Nicole could possibly want to talk to her about. “You can, um, leave your swimming bag on the dining table.”

“Thanks.” Haught did as the co-owner of the apartment said, taking a few steps towards the couch and sitting carefully on it.

The med student followed her, taking a sit on the other end, and looked at her with her brows furrowed. As she noticed Nicole’s eyes slowly traveling through her neck, sighing harshly — and not at all approvingly — at what was probably the view of dark, large bruises Rosita’s teeth and lips had left the night before, she became to have a guess of what that conversation was going to be about.

“Before you say anything—”

“What is going on, Vicki?” The auburn haired woman interrupted her, gently leaning her arm against the back of the couch.

“What do you mean?”

“I think you know what I mean.”

Vicki took a deep breath, making a huge effort not to roll her eyes. “Not you too, Haught stuff. Why does everyone keep thinking something’s wrong with me?”

“Everyone?”

“Yes! First Waverly keeps wandering around like a lost puppy and sitting next to me without saying anything because she won’t just ask and expects me to guess what’s inside of her head, then my sister Amy calls and says I sound weird, and now you. What the hell did I do this time?”

“You...” Nicole hesitated. “You slept with Wynonna.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

The redhead pouted for a second, waving her head nearly imperceptibly before looking back at Waverly’s roommate. “It’s not. But you’ve been sleeping with Rosita, and haven’t been talking to Wynonna.”

“Those are not your problems.”

“Just, please, listen.” Haught asked patiently, offering Vicki a sympathetic half smile. “Waverly’s worried about you. She says you haven’t been eating right, and—”

“I’m a freaking adult. She doesn’t have to watch my eating as if I was a helpless baby.”

“Okay, that’s it.” Nicole raised her voice a little bit. “You’ve been an ass to Waverly and you’ve been sleeping with my best friend, which would be okay if being in love with your best friend’s sister wasn’t destroying you. And before you say you’re not in love with Wynonna, please spare me. I have eyes, and am not sure how Waverly hasn’t figured it out yet.”

“So you didn’t tell her.”

“It’s not my secret to tell.” The Law student ran her fingers through her own hair. “And was that a confirmation?”

Vicki stood perfectly still for a moment, her lips slightly parted as she looked hesitantly at Nicole. She just wanted the redhead to leave so she could go back to Family Medicine and drink all the beer there was left in the fridge.

“Don’t make me say it, Haught.” The brunette said in a low pitched tone, gulping strongly before sighing deeper than she’d ever done. “ I’m so fucking scared.”

“Just chill. It’s going to be okay.” Haught reassured. “It’s not my place to say anything, but I think she feels the same. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Freaking fireworks, man.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Shepherd chuckled sadly, softly shaking away the tiniest bit of hope Nicole had given her. “But the way you describe it... I mean, it’s the way you look at Waverly. Like you’re Buzz Lightyear and she’s Jessie.”

The ginger haired woman raised an eyebrow. “I thought Woody was the one who liked Jessie.”

“What? No! Come on, have you even seen Toy Story 3?”

“Many years ago. But it makes sense.”

“Ew! Fuck no!” Vicki had a disgusted look on her face. “Jessie and Woody... Are you high?”

“They’re both cowboys! It does make sense!”

“Gross. Jessie The Yodeling Cowgirl is like Woody’s sister. It’d be the same thing if I said I thought  you and Ed Sheeran were dating because you’re both redheads.” Shepherd rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath at Nicole’s ignorance when it came to Disney movies, and remember what she was talking about before that argument started. “Okay, you’re a total Disney poser, but that’s not my point. My point is you like my best friend.”

“What? Nah. Me? No way. Absolutely no. Nope.”

The med student giggled.

“Lie a little better.” She said, standing up to walk towards the refrigerator. “But I won’t bug you about it. You want anything to eat or drink? We have ice cream, some pizza Waverly ordered last night, OJ and alcohol.”

“Nah.” Nicole got up from the couch as well, taking a few steps until she reached the dining table and picking up her bag there. “I have to go, actually. But thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Before the redhead walked out of the apartment, she faced Waverly’s roommate, whilst standing on the doorway. “I’m here for you, just so you know. So is Waverly.”

“Thank you. For real.”

“Anytime.”

 

-x-

 

Wynonna was kind of an expert when it came to bars. She’d been to at least fifteen in the entire Ghost River Triangle and, throughout her first two years after college, she had visited pubs and even dive bars all over South America and a few European countries. Bars were her safe place, but, this time, they weren’t bringing her the feeling of settlement they usually did. Drinking had become extremely painful — even though she wasn’t sure being sober was better.

She’d eventually learned that no bars, no fancy drink mixtures and no amount of alcohol would ever make her feel the way Vicki did. Maybe bars weren’t her safe place — Vicki’s arms were.

“Stop thinking about her.” The deputy groaned to herself, sinking her head into some murder case file she had to solve. “Not worth it.”

Wynonna stuck her hand into a donut box — which made her feel just like one of those fat New York City cops —, taking a sprinkled one to her lips while she stretched out her legs on the desk. Jeremy and Dolls were out in some sort of interrogation or whatever, so she had the whole Black Badge room to herself and could mumble incessantly about Vicki without anyone hearing.

Not that she cared about the med student. No. Not in the slightest.

It’s just that everything made her feel so overloaded and it seemed like she had absolutely nothing to do about that. At first, when she ended things with Shepherd — not that there was anything concrete to end —, Wynonna thought that maybe it would be easier to deal with the sweaty events in her little sister’s apartment (she actually thought she wouldn’t make it weird that time and, well, she couldn’t be more wrong), but simply ignoring Vicki’s existence and having the girl ignore hers made Earp even more uncomfortable. Uncomfortable was a euphemism — the complete silence was like a turtle neck, up Wynonna’s throat and making it hard to breathe at times. It was quiet chaos.

The marshal decided to take a break from that case and just open the blinds, so that she could stare at the Purgatory clouded sky like in one of those cliché movies Waverly loved and she hated. Well, she was desperate.

“This sucks.” She muttered, sighing deeply as she sat down on the desk, ignoring a few papers lying on it. “I feel like a fucking thirteen-year-old. Universe, just give me a sign, pal. I’ve got to get my life together.”

The next thing that came out of Wynonna’s mouth was an incredulous laugh. She couldn’t believe what she saw — Vicki Shepherd, on the sidewalk across the street from the station, hair wrapped up in a ponytail as she went on one of her usual jogs.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

The med student looked determined. Even though it was cloudy outside, she didn’t wear a t-shirt – just one of the sports bras Wynonna eventually spotted her in –, and the black joggers seemed to fit her legs perfectly. The white earplugs were there, and Earp was sure something like Snow Patrol or Oasis was playing – before they decided to act like each other didn’t exist, the blue-eyed used to mock Vicki’s music taste by saying she’d never left the 2000s all the time (even though she also loved those bands, secretly). The brown-eyed seemed unwavering, her torso, stomach and arms glowing in a thin layer of sweat.

She looked beautiful, as usual.

“Universe, I hate you.”

As soon as a woman who was probably nearing her thirties stopped Vicki, holding a baby in her arms, which made Shepherd smile radiantly and play with the little chubby arms, Wynonna couldn’t help but groan in misery.

“Touché, huh?”

She recognized the woman as friend Vicki had introduced her once or twice, but that didn’t matter. The sight of Waverly’s best friend laughing goofily to a baby was more than she could take for that day. That’s why she simply closed the blinds again, picking up a donut in the pink box and mumbling something by Snow Patrol.

 

-x-

 

As much Nicole would love to be in the pool all day long, training and enjoying Waverly’s company, she had to hand in a Labor Relations essay — which she was by no means excited about. Since the day Professor Laughlin shamelessly hit on her — the morning after she went to Shorty’s with the Earps, Vicki and Rosita —, she’d felt uncomfortable to sit on her usual spot (one of the front rows) and try to pay attention as the blonde woman sensually bit the tip of her pen. Haught had begun to wonder if she did that on purpose. The older woman had been throwing more discreet hints and, whenever she got a chance, touching the redhead’s arm or shoulder without the necessity to.

Nicole was single, attractive, and openly gay — but the idea of giving in to her professor’s tentatives seemed oddly unappealing. That was probably due to the fact that she respected the woman so much as a teacher and _nothing more,_ but, since she became friends with Waverly, she hadn’t really thought of anyone else like _that_. She wondered if those two were related.

“Miss Haught”, the blonde said as soon as Nicole walked into the classroom. No one else was in there and except for the both of them. “You’ve missed the last two classes.”

“I know, Professor Laughlin, and I’m sorry, it’s just... You know, with sectionals next week I’ve been overloaded. Don’t worry, though. I’ve been catching up on Labor Relations just fine.”

“Good girl.” The woman let out a discreet side smile, starting to bite the tip of her pen as Haught simply knew she would, and didn’t seem to notice when the redhead frowned confusedly. “Most students don’t even care about studying when in a sports team.”

“Well, I’m not most students.”

“You certainly are not.”

Nicole chewed on the inside of her cheek, her professor’s overly low voice beginning to startle her a bit. God, if that had happened a month before. She’d be over the moon.

But, for some reason, the only thing in her mind was Waverly.

“Why...” She started talking, choking on air for a second as Laughlin let her hand rest on the desk just beside Nicole, leaning forwards in a way that shortened the distance between them. “Why hasn’t anyone else arrived yet?”

“You’d know if you’d come last class.” The older woman chuckled, taking her glasses of and leaving them on the desk. “You see, since most of you are athletes and way too excited about sectionals to focus on Law, I cancelled class today as long as everyone showed up to hand the papers in. Congratulations, you’re first.”

“Oh, um, okay. I guess I should get going, then...”

“Or you can stay. I’ll teach you everything you’ve missed while you were gone.” The professor raised an eyebrow, and Nicole nearly fell to the ground as the woman undid the first button on her white shirt. “I’m sorry, it’s awfully hot in here today. You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, um... I can’t really stay.” Haught said faster than she intended to. “And, as I said, I’ve been catching up. It’s all good.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup. I better get going, I have a meeting with my, uh... My trainer.” _Trainer_ wasn’t the ideal word to refer to Waverly as, but, during the past few weeks, it kind of suited the tiny girl.

The swimmer smiled politely, without showing teeth, and gripped her fingers around the stripe of her backpack. She started walking away, but of course Laughlin just _had to_ say something.

“You don’t have to run from me, Nicole. And, trust me, the Bambi eyes are not a good look.” Her voice was higher, yet still firm as a rock. “I don’t bite. _Unless you want me to..._ ”

The last sentence was a whisper, but Haught could hear it clearly. She didn’t say anything — all she could do was walk out of the room, wondering what in the world she’d done to deserve that.


End file.
